Middle Eastern recipe

Creamy Hummus with Tahini

Name: Creamy Hummus with Tahini
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Middle Eastern cuisine
Ingredients: 480 g cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 120 g smooth tahini, stirred well; 60 ml fresh lemon juice; 2 garlic cloves, peeled; 60 ml ice-cold water, plus more as needed; 4 g ground cumin; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to finish; 5 g fine salt, or to taste; 2 g sumac and chopped parsley for garnish

A smooth chickpea-and-tahini dip brightened with lemon and garlic, finished with olive oil and a pinch of sumac.

Levant and Egypt

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 15 min
Servings: 6

Smooth hummus topped with olive oil, sumac and chopped parsley — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Paul GoyetteSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 2.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

480 g
cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
120 g
smooth tahini, stirred well
60 ml
fresh lemon juice
2
garlic cloves, peeled
60 ml
ice-cold water, plus more as needed
4 g
ground cumin
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
5 g
fine salt, or to taste
2 g
sumac and chopped parsley for garnish

Method

01
Whip tahini, lemon and garlic
Add the tahini, lemon juice and garlic to a food processor. Blend for 1 minute, scrape the bowl, then blend again until pale and fluffy.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Blend in the first chickpeas
Add half of the chickpeas and the cumin. Blend until the beans are broken down, stopping once to scrape the bowl.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Make the dip silky
Add the remaining chickpeas, olive oil and salt. Blend for 3 minutes, pouring in ice water a little at a time until the hummus is light and spoonable.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Taste and adjust
Taste with a clean spoon. Add a little more lemon for brightness or salt for depth, then pulse briefly to combine.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Serve with olive oil and sumac
Spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, swirl a spoon across the surface, and finish with olive oil, sumac and parsley. Serve with warm pita or crisp vegetables.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Blend the tahini and lemon first until pale and fluffy, then add chickpeas gradually for a lighter, smoother dip.
Reserve a little cooking liquid and add it by the spoonful only if the mixture needs loosening.

Common mistakes

Adding all the chickpeas at once can overwhelm a small food processor and leave coarse pieces.
Using bitter tahini or old garlic can dominate the mild chickpea flavor; taste each before blending.

Substitutions

Use canned chickpeas for a quick batch, rinsing them well and warming briefly to soften their skins.
If tahini is unavailable, unsweetened sunflower-seed butter works, though the flavor will differ from the Levantine staple.

Storage

Keep covered at 0–4°C and use within 4 days. Freeze airtight for longer storage and thaw in the refrigerator.

Cultural context

Hummus is enjoyed across the Levant and Egypt, with local arguments over style, texture and garnishes. This version is a smooth tahini-rich home dip, not a claim that one country owns the dish.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Hummus from The Nile.jpg — Photograph by Paul Goyette; CC BY-SA 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Middle Eastern recipes

Creamy Hummus with Tahini

Ingredients

Method

Whip tahini, lemon and garlic

Blend in the first chickpeas

Make the dip silky

Taste and adjust

Serve with olive oil and sumac

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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