Hummus (Greek)
Time 1–24 hours Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 9 Steps 7
Hummus is a nutritious dip originating from the Middle East. It is called revythosaláta (ρεβυθοσαλάτα) in Greek.
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw dried chickpeas (or skip the soaking and cooking steps, and use 7 cups of drained tinned/canned chickpeas)
- 9 cups water
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- ¾ cup (175 g) tahini (ground sesame seeds)
- ¾ cup (175 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 12 cloves of garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
Steps
- Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Drain.
- Simmer the chickpeas gently with 9 cups generously salted water and 1 tablespoon oil until very soft but whole, about 3 hours (or 10 minutes plus cooling time in a pressure cooker).
- Drain the chickpeas. Reserve a few cups of the cooking liquid.
- Rinse the chickpeas in plenty of cold water, gently rubbing between hands to release the skins. Change the water several times, removing most skins. Drain.
- In a food processor (or other means), mix the lemon juice with the tahini.
- Purée or mash the chickpeas in batches, using the lemon-tahini mixture, olive oil and cooking liquid as needed for consistency. Add the garlic with the olive oil. Process until smooth.
- In a large bowl, mix the salt and pepper into the blended ingredients. Add more cooking liquid if too thick.
Notes from the original
- 1–2 tablespoons of asafoetida (hing) powder can be used to substitute for the garlic, which may otherwise be omitted.
- Use a pot that will hold several times the volume of the chickpeas and the water for cooking the chickpeas, because they will foam (the tablespoon of oil minimises that, however).
- Use olive oil instead of the reserved cooking liquid to thin the hummus. Alternatively, mix in a tablespoon of olive oil into a serving before eating.
- It's particularly good when eaten with sliced French stick (bread), and it is traditionally eaten with pita bread. It is also a nutritionally sound alternative to most other dips.
- Hummus freezes really well, so consider making a double batch, and then freezing most of it in containers small enough to hold two servings (they can be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator, as needed).
- Hummus is NOT a traditional Greek dish—it derives from Cyprus and the Middle East. Chickpeas in the traditional Greek cuisine (at least in Attica and Cyclades) are usually eaten only as soup.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Hummus (Greek)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-08-22, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Hummus.jpg by Donovan Govan., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.