White Bean Hummus

Hummus—on pita, or just spooned into my mouth—is one of my favorite foods. While I love the traditional chickpea (garbanzo bean) recipe, I prefer white beans—they lend themselves to a smoother, creamier dish, and canned white beans are delicious whereas canned chickpeas play second fiddle to their dried, soaked, cooked, and skinned brethren. This recipe is intentionally simple; good hummus needs no gimmick.

White Bean Hummus

Makes about 3 cups of hummus, which is 2-3 large servings or 4-6 small.

Ingredients:

2 cans (28 oz total) canned fagioli cannellini (white kidney beans), drained, La Regina an excellent brand
1 medium-large lemon, juiced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup tahini
about 1/4 cup olive oil
gray salt, to taste

In a medium-sized food processor, add the drained beans, lemon juice, garlic cloves, cumin, cayenne pepper, and gray salt. Blend on full power, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and stir, until the mixture is fully incorpoated and a thick pulp-like consistency. You cannot over-blend here.

Add the tahini. Continue blending, occasionally scrapping the sides, until the mixture is again fully incorporated and is now a smooth paste-like consistency.

Blending…

…Blended

While blending, slowly add the olive oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy. With good cannellini beans and the full 1/2 cup of tahini, this might only be a tablespoon or two of olive oil.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Scrape the sides and blend another 60 seconds. Cover and chill until ready to use.

Cutting up shallot and cucumber to serve with the hummus

Serve with warm fresh pita, cucumber, kalamata olives, shallot, and tahini sauce.