How to Make Hummus

Here at our Toronto banquet hall we make a lot of hummus! It’s one of the dishes we are best known for and the one we get requests for over and over again with our catering. So what exactly is hummus and what can you use it for? Basically it is a chickpea puree with some extra ingredients we like to throw in. Hummus can be used for many snacks, entrees and side dishes. We usually place ours on the tables as part of our trio of mezze dips with warm toasted pita and our artisan breadbasket. That way, guests can snack on something as they are waiting in between courses or add it to their entrée!

Here we’ve provided a simple recipe you can use at home of how to make hummus.

What you’ll need:

A food processor or blender
1 (18oz) can of chickpeas (If you would like to use dried chick peas instead simply soak one cup in water for eight hours over night. Then simmer them in fresh water for about an hour or until they are as tender as you want them to be. Thy should however, be as tender as the ones in the cans or the hummus can be grainy.)
3 tbsp tahini-sometimes the oil in the tahini can separate from the paste. Make sure to stir it if you can or try to get both oil and pasted when measuring.
4 tbsp lemon juice (which is about the juice from one large lemon)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
A pinch of cumin seeds and cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Drain the chickpeas, but make sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the can.
2. Place the chickpeas and liquid in the blender along with the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt.
3. Blend the mixture until it’s creamy or to your desired thickness.
4. Place the hummus in any kind of serving dish and garnish with cumin seeds and cayenne pepper.

Pita Chips

We’ve also added an additional recipe for the perfect pita chips that will go great with your dip! After all plain pita from the store is no fun. In this 7 minute recipe, you will know how to turn pita into delicious chips.

What you’ll need:

Pita
Olive Oil
Pinches of Salt, Pepper, Paprika and Chervil (or parsley)
Cookie Sheet
Basting Brush

Instructions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles and place the triangles on lined cookie sheet.
3. Use your basting brush to spread oil onto each of the triangle-both front and back.
4. Pinch salt, pepper, paprika, chervil onto the triangles.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Make sure you keep your eye on them, as they tend to burn easily!

For more information about our Toronto Banquet Hall or catering services check out our website here! We also have a wedding blog filled with tons of wedding inspiration, tips and other recipes!