To soak the chickpeas, cover them with double their volume of water and add the baking soda — the baking soda helps the skins of the chickpeas to become soft, which in turn produces a much smoother hummus. Let the chickpeas re-hydrate overnight.

Note: For the chickpeas, it’s BEST to cook your own, rather than using canned. If using canned chickpeas you will need 2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, which is about 2 cans — with that said, we highly recommend cooking your own chickpeas as it is an essential part of the final texture of this creamy hummus.

To cook the chickpeas, drain them and then add them to a medium pot and cover with double their volume of water — add the baking soda and bring to a boil. At this point, turn down the heat and let the chickpeas cook over a very low simmer for about 20 minutes. As the chickpeas cook use a slotted spoon or small sieve to skim away any foam and loose skins that rise to the surface of the water and discard. This will ensure the hummus is extra creamy and smooth.

After 20 minutes or so, add the garlic to the pot and continue to cook for another 15 to 25 minutes, or until the chickpeas are very soft and easily fall apart. Note that the amount of time to cook the chickpeas will depend on their size, age, your stovetop, how long they were soaked, etc. They just need to be soft enough to mash, with no crunchiness — you also don’t want them to become overcooked and mushy either. It typically takes us about 40 minutes to cook the chickpeas.

Once done, drain the chickpeas, but SAVE all of the cooking liquid. Let the chickpeas sit for a few minutes to ensure any extra moisture has drained off.

Before you start, reserve a couple of tablespoons of the chickpeas to garnish the hummus with afterward — this is not totally necessary but it does make for nice presentation.

To make the hummus, add the still WARM chickpeas, garlic, tahini, and cumin. Pulse a few times and then add the fresh lemon juice, salt, and purée again. With the machine running, slowly add either some of the cooking liquid and/or a bit of olive oil. The final consistency will depend on how you like your hummus, but typically it is served somewhat soft/runny while still firm enough to hold its shape. If making it the more traditional/runnier hummus, you may need to use quite a bit of the cooking liquid — just add it slowly and check the consistency from time to time, to ensure you don’t make it too runny. We typically use at least 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Note that the hummus will thicken up a bit once it cools.

Note: Raw garlic, roasted garlic, or even Garlic Confit can also be used to make the hummus. The amount of garlic is ultimately up to you but we prefer our hummus to not be too overpowering in terms of garlic, which is why we cook it with the chickpeas as this helps to tame the harsh raw garlic taste.

To serve the hummus, spoon it into a shallow bowl and then spread it out a bit using the back of the spoon to create a few pockets — then drizzle the surface with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil (if using) and sprinkle with a bit of paprika and garnish with the reserved chickpeas. Serve either warm or cold with some pita bread and/or vegetables.

Optionally, the hummus can be garnished with some finely diced onions and some roughly chopped parsley.