Roasted garlic just makes everything better. If you are looking for an effective way to inject big flavor into food that requires minimal effort and only a few cents, roasted garlic is the answer!
I love this hummus recipe so much, I make it several times a week! A container of this does not last long over here! The creamy, flavorful spread is great as a snack with crisp veggies and pita, as a sandwich spread or as a condiment with grilled chicken or vegetables.
Here’s what you need:
I have had great hummus, and I have had not so great hummus. For a classic recipe that is so simple, it is surprisingly easy to mess up. When testing hummus recipes, I found there are 2 things that have the greatest effect on the overall flavor and texture.
- The order in which ingredients are added
- The brand of tahini used
No two tahinis are alike.
If you have had hummus before that had a bitter aftertaste and chalky, unpleasant mouthfeel, the culprit was the tahini. There are a lot of not great tahinis out there, so I would recommend doing some research before making a purchase. The brand I love and I use in this recipe is Baron’s Pure Tahini Sesame Paste. It has a great nutty flavor and a smooth, creamy consistency.
The order in which you purée the ingredients as well as the amount of time spent puréing has a big influence on the final texture of your hummus. I will elaborate on that in a moment.
Roast the garlic first, then let it cool before handling.
Slice off the top quarter of the garlic bulb to expose all or most of the cloves. Place it on a sheet of foil and drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil. Close the foil around the bulb and roast for 40 to 50 minutes at 400 degrees. The cloves will be caramelized on top and fork tender. Pluck the individual cloves out with a fork. Some of them you may need to unwrap.
Make a base for the hummus.
Reserve the aquafaba, which is the liquid leftover from the can of chick peas. If you are or have ever been a bartender (raises hand) or if you do any vegan baking, you are likely familiar with aquafaba. It is commonly used as a substitute for egg whites. If you whip it and incorporate a lot of air into it, it increases in volume and becomes frothy and pillowy.
Pour the aquafaba, tahini, lemon juice, salt and spices as well as the roasted garlic cloves into a food processor and turn it on to high to whip for about 3 minutes. The base will have a thick, creamy texture, similar to mayonnaise. Keep the leftover aquafaba in case you need a bit more towards the end.
Add the drained chick peas and olive oil.
Turn the food processor back on high. Purée for another few minutes. The longer you purée, the smoother your hummus will be. If the hummus seems a bit too thick, add a couple more tablespoons of aquafaba. Check for seasonings and add more salt if needed.
I like to give the hummus another good drizzle of olive oil before presenting. You could sprinkle on a pinch of za’atar for an herbal finish or top it with a handful of toasted garlic!
Keep your hummus stored in a lidded container for up to a week!
Other recipes to try:
Roasted Garlic Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- 2 15 ounce cans chick peas low sodium
- 1/2 cup aquafaba (leftover liquid from the chick pea cans)
- 2 lemons juiced about 1/2 cup of juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Baron's Pure Tahini Sesame Paste
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Slice the whole garlic head, horizontally, about a quarter of the way down from the top to expose the individual cloves. Place the bulb, sitting up, on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle the entire top of the bulb with olive oil. Loosely close the foil around the garlic and place it into a preheated 400 degree oven. Roast for 40-50 minutes. The cloves will be fork tender and caramelized. Set them aside to cool a few minutes before handling. Remove the cloves from the head of garlic and place them in a food processor with the aquafaba, lemon juice, tahini, salt, cumin and paprika. Purée this for a while, at least a minute, to make a thick, emulsified, creamy base for the hummus.Add the chick peas and purée again for another minute, until the hummus is smooth.