Medieval Hummus

Recipe from Lucien Zayan

Adapted by Ligaya Mishan

Updated October 11, 2023

  • A fuchsia bowl holds a swirl of hummus topped with chickpeas and drizzled with olive oil.
    Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Sophia Pappas.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Rating
4(687)
Comments
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The roots of this recipe, an ancestor of modern hummus, date back at least as far as the 13th century, as the Iraqi food historian Nawal Nasrallah writes on her blog, My Iraqi Kitchen. As adapted by Lucien Zayan, a Frenchman of Egyptian and Syrian descent who runs the Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn, you boil chickpeas until their skins loosen and they reveal themselves, tender little hulks with souls of butter. Then you mash them in a swirl of tahini, olive oil, vinegar, spices and herbs, and fold in a crush of nuts, seeds and preserved lemon, sour-bright and tasting of aged sun. Notably absent from the recipe is garlic. Here, instead, the nuts — Mr. Zayan uses hazelnuts, for more butteriness, and pistachios, with their hint of camphor — fortify the chickpeas in their earthy heft, so close to the richness of meat. —Ligaya Mishan

Featured in: This Hummus Holds Up After 800 Years

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Ingredients

Yield:About 4½ cups

  • ⅓ cup raw hazelnuts

  • 1 ½ tablespoons caraway seeds

  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds

  • 1 ½ teaspoons sesame seeds

  • ¼ cup shelled roasted unsalted pistachios

  • 5 mint leaves

  • 1 small sprig tarragon, leaves only

  • 3 ½ cups cooked drained chickpeas (homemade from 8 ounces dried chickpeas or from two 15-ounce cans chickpeas)

  • ½ cup tahini

  • ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste (see Tip)

  • ½ tablespoon ground sumac, plus more for sprinkling

  • 1 ½ teaspoons rice vinegar

  • Salt

  • ½ cup ice-cold water

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

55 grams carbs; 489 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 23 grams fat; 13 grams fiber; 301 milligrams sodium; 20 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the hazelnuts, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and the skins begin to split, 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. When cool, gently rub off the skins and discard.

  2. Step 2

    Using the same pan, toast the caraway, coriander and sesame seeds, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool slightly (the seeds will continue to toast).

  3. Step 3

    Add the toasted hazelnuts and the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until they release their oils and make a compact paste, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mint and tarragon and pulse to combine.

  4. Step 4

    Add the chickpeas to the mixture in the food processor, reserving a handful for garnish. Then add the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, the toasted seeds, sumac, rice vinegar and a pinch of salt. Start pulsing and gradually add the ice water, splash by splash, until creamy and smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt, as desired.

  5. Step 5

    Spoon the hummus onto a plate. (If you like, use a piping bag and experiment with different tips for an artful presentation.) Drizzle with olive oil, dust with sumac and finish with a few chickpeas on top.

Tip

  • Instead of lemon juice, Lucien Zayan uses half of a preserved lemon (preferably made with minimal salt) and adds a splash of its liquid along with the ice water.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
687 user ratings
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Comments

Michael

I prefer passing the cooked garbanzos through a food mill. It involves more work than a food processor, but it strains out the seed coating and produces a creamier puree.

Judy

Some types of sumac (there are many) have white berries that can produce a painful, itchy skin rash similar to poison ivy. They are not eaten. The kind sold as a ground spice is from one of the red-berried varieties and is widely consumed in middle eastern dishes.

capeMimi

I make hummus without tahini. Into the food processor: rinsed canned chick peas, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic cloves to taste, salt to taste. I add bits of water to loosen it up or add a roasted red pepper. For heat, sometimes I add a pinch of cayenne. To serve, I will spread on a plate, top with minced tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, chopped roasted pistachios, minced parsley and mint, then drizzle with olive oil. I think hummus takes a fair amount of salt to be tasty.

Max Alexander, Rome

This didn't win me over. Good hummus is simple and straightforward with just a few ingredients, although Americans tend to add way too much garlic. This tasted muddled--too many different nuts and seeds going on, and as I suspected (and confirmed), there is no way you can taste five mint leaves, much less a sprig of tarragon. I was curious because here in Italy we grow the finest hazelnuts and pistachios in the world, and we have local organic dried chickpeas at the farmer's market.

judy

Lemon juice increased about 2x plus half a preserved lemon chopped. Grind the coriander and caraway seeds!

Tom

You can cook the chickpeas in a pot of water with a teaspoon of Bicarbonate Soda for 20 minutes or so. Rinse really well afterwards. This process breaks down the skins so they blend incredibly creamy. Found in a Cookie and Kate recipe.

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Credits

Adapted from Lucien Zayan

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