If it strikes you as a little weird that hummus received top billing as our 2015 Dish of the Year, then, well, you haven’t had chef Michael Solomonov’s. The incredibly rich, ineffably smooth version that he dishes up at Dizengoff, his bustling Philadelphia hummusiya, couldn’t possibly be more different from the paste you scoop out of the plastic tub with baby carrots when there’s nothing else in the house to eat. It’s light. It’s creamy. It’s deeply, deeply satisfying. And the great news is that, if you don’t happen to live in the Philadelphia area, we’ve got his recipe for the dreamiest, most delicious at-home hummus you’ve ever made.
But what’s the secret behind Solomonov’s hummus, anyways? When we were testing the recipe from his forthcoming cookbook Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking—which is full of all kinds of mouthwatering modern Israeli goodness—we were struck by a few shockingly simple keys to his dreamy spread.
The first trick to chickpea-and-tahini perfection has been hiding in our pantry the whole damn time: baking soda. Solomonov adds a tiny bit of the stuff to the chickpea-soaking liquid, and then again to the pot he boils the beans in, which raises the pH of the water and helps the little guys break down to a soft, pulpy mass—not ideal for, say, a bean salad, but perfect for an ultra-smooth purée. You know how the hummus you made in college was all weird and grainy? Right. Baking soda.
The other secret to the chef’s standout spread? Good tahini, and lots of it. Some hummus recipes out there downplay it, relying on olive oil for richness, but, in Solomonov’s version, sesame is the star. He whips plenty of the paste into a creamy emulsion with fresh lemon juice, garlic, and ice water before incorporating it into the cooked chickpeas for a purée that is super unctuous and addictively nutty.
And, in case you hadn’t guessed by now, quality tahini is crucial to quality hummus. The chef gets his exclusively from a small, family-owned Philadelphia-based company called Soom Foods, which sources sesame from Ethiopia and hulls, roasts, and processes the seeds to perfection in Israel. It’s rich and complex, with none of the aggressive bitterness characteristic of brands that use cheaper South American sesame. It’s available online, but in a pinch we also really like the Whole Foods 365 brand tahini.
So what’re you waiting for? Boil some chickpeas (with baking soda, please!), get your hands on some good tahini, and purée your way to hummus perfection. One bite, and you’ll be ruined for the store-bought stuff forever. Sorry, not sorry.
Get the original recipe here via Bon Appetit: Israeli-Style Hummus
