I made Curry Hummus a few weeks back. In that recipe I made mention of Smitten Kitchen’s Ethereally Smooth Hummus. Deb achieved her heavenly hummus smoothness first by peeling each and every garbanzo bean. Pfffttt. I quickly and easily dismissed that possibility in my Curry Hummus in hopes of expediting the process and getting hummus in my face as soon as possible. Peel every bean!? No way.
The only problem is, the thought of Deb’s smooth hummus has been haunting me ever since! Dangit! Laziness backfired.
Back in the kitchen for me! This time with a recipe from the latest Food and Wine magazine for Avocado Hummus. Between the peeled beans and the creamy avocado, I really need this to be a smooth success!
How long does it take to peel two cups of garbanzo beans for hummus? About twenty minutes. Twenty solid minutes. Is it worth it? Yea… mostly. Do you really haaaaave to do it. No… it’s cool. But you might be haunted just like me. Beware.
The peeled garbanzo beans are combined with other hummus-y ingredients like garlic, tahini, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper. The avocado adds a really rad depth of flavor, making this hummus somewhere between guacamole and hummus.
Well!!? Wa it completely smooth!? Was it worth the twenty minutes of peeling? Yes my hummus was dreamy smooth. But I have to admit that all that smooth hummus kind of had me missing the slightly more chunky variety. Ugh. I know. I’m the worst. This might be a ‘grass is always greener’ situation. I loved the light and creamy texture of this hummus, but also would have been totally satisfied if the hummus had a little bite to it. Either way it works for me. At least I can rest easy knowing this!
It’s time for pita chips and avocado slices!
I like to add a bit of olive oil, coarse sea salt, and black pepper to my hummus. A little bit of bite with every bite!
Creamy Avocado Hummus
makes about 3 cups
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
2 ripe avocados, cut into chunks
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
green bell pepper, sliced for serving
cucumber, sliced for serving
pita chips, for serving
For an extra smooth hummus spread, take the time to remove the skins from the chickpeas. If you have neither the time or patience for that, no problem… throw the drained chickpeas in as-is.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine chickpeas, avocado chunks, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until combined and smooth. I blended my hummus for about 3 minutes. Stop the food processor and taste. Add more salt and pepper and lemon if necessary. Blend for another 5 minutes until light and smooth. Serve topped with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Serve with fresh vegetables and pita chips.
Rachel
I’m a hummus fan and an avocado fan but it never occurred to me to blend the two together. Great idea – looking forward to giving it a go!
3girls1apple
Wow. I love hummus and this looks like another keeper. Delicious! Thanks for sharing from 3girls1apple.com
Andj
Hummus and guacamole hybrid sounds like the most ultimate dip. It also seems like a good gateway dip to guacamole, which my boyfriend thinks he doesn’t like.
Andrew
Joy- When I read about your chickpea peeling woes, I figured I should help you like you help all of us with your awesome work. Here’s a link to a recipe where they teach you the easiest way to eliminate chickpea skins: baking soda! First, dry beans are so much better- no taste from the metal. Soak the beans overnight. Drain and then add a teaspoon of baking soda to the beans in a pot. Over the heat they go where you stir constantly for 3 minutes. Then you add water and cook for 20-40 minutes. The baking soda makes the skin fall right off. Now, you are ready to proceed with whatever hummus recipe you want. http://food52.com/recipes/22888-yotam-ottolenghi-sami-tamimi-s-basic-hummus
Grace
This looks great! I love the thickness of avocado, so that’s such a great idea to make an avocado humus! Love it, girl!
http://sometimesgracefully.com
Rossi @ A Baking Girl
Guacomole… and hummus… together! I can’t even deal right now
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
I have to admit, avocados aren’t my jam at all, but in hummus, i mayy be able to deal with them!
DessertForTwo
Gorgeous! I love that shade of green! I think I’d eat anything that color!
I’ve found it’s easier to peel canned chickpeas than fresh, if that helps ya :)
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
this sounds delicious, joy!! Such a fun flavour!
Ana
a further thought re. chunkiness – the peeled chickpeas can be processed less, which will result in both strong chickpea flavour and rougher texture.
OK, now I’m done! Sorry for the multiple comments. I kept thinking of another thing to say! :)
Ana
I should add that apparently there’s a quick way to peel chickpeas – just put them on a clean kitchen towel and rub in the towel. Then it’s easier to just pick the chickpeas out. Will try it next time. So far, I found the peeling strangely therapeautic, so it was probably at a time when I needed to chill out and unplug my brain from the Internet/TV/work grid.
Ana
I find there’s a difference in flavour between peeled and unpeeled chickpeas, akin to that of peeled vs. unpeeled broadbeans. The flavours are more pronunced and clean in the peeled versions. The peel itself does not have that much flavour so it feels like it’s ‘diluting’ my hummus. Once I’ve tried that, it’s hard to go back… Recently, I’ve been peeling my chickpeas I’m afraid…
Sophie @ The Spotty Teapot
I love houmous and guacamole, so it’s only right that this mixture of the two exists. Can’t wait to try it some time. Although I don’t know if I can be bothered with all the peeling, I’m so used to it being chunky.
Jessica (bakecetera)
i just started experimenting with different hummus making techniques – and i definitely gotta say i prefer the peeled bean version! (although it does take a lot more time!) i can’t wait to try out hummus with avocado though… awesome recipe!
Belinda Lo (Moonblush Baker)
Yep I have become to addicted richness of skinless hummus too. You just made it ten time more addictive by addition of buttery avo. I think in a world this big, chunky and smooth hummus can live in harmony don’t you think?