Kookin' in Korea: Hummus

Happy spring vacation to me! Yep, that's right. I'm on vacation again. For those who do not know, South Korea's academic school year is different than the United States. Back home we typically start school in August and end in May/June giving us a little over two months of vacation in the summer. Where as in Korea, the academic school year begins in March and ends in February giving two weeks of vacation (spring vacation) between each school year. They also get a month long vacation in the winter and another month during the summer; this is on top of any public holidays we also get off. Point. I make out like a bandit when it comes to paid days off!

Hummus with a splash of lemon: 

I actually made this a month ago, but just haven't had time to sit and actually write this post. Hope you enjoy!

Things you need

2 cups chickpeas (hard find, but sometimes sold at local marts)

5 tbsp lemon juice

4 garlic gloves (3 tbsp)

1/4 cup olive oil (Costco and local marts)

1 1/2 tbsp tahini

pinch of salt
cumin (rare find, but sometimes sold in small marts)

Before you can actually make the hummus you must soak and cook the chickpeas and also make the tahini.

1. Preparing Chickpeas - pour 2 cups of dried chickpeas into a colander and quickly rinse. Once peas are rinsed pour into a bowl and cover with water. You do not need a lot of water. Just enough to cover all peas. Soak peas overnight or ~12 hrs. After soaking in water the peas will almost double in size. After soaking, rinse one more time and remove the discolored peas. Once you've sorted through the peas pour in a pot and boil for 1 1/2 hours or until the peas can be easily mashed with a fork. Once peas  have fully cooked set aside and let cool.

           Rinse                                                              Soak                                                  Boil

                   

2. Making the Tahini - the recipe does not call for a large amount, but it's nice to make more than necessary for other recipes. Tahini can be easily stored in a plastic or glass jar in the fridge. To make, first toast sesame seeds for about 8 minutes on the stove top. No need to use oil. Seeds should turn a darker brown; not too brown though! Be careful not too burn the seeds, you just want them to become a little darker.

Left: uncooked sesame seeds. Right: toasted sesame seeds. I personally think I overcooked the seeds. Shoot for a slightly lighter color.

Time to make tahini paste! Blend the desired amount of toasted sesame seeds and olive oil. Here I used 1 cup toasted seeds and 1/4 cup olive oil. Remember, I made more than the recipe requires.

A food processor may work better, but it's Korea. Who has a food processor here?! A small blender worked perfectly fine for me.

You may also have to add additional olive oil to achieve the desired consistency. Note - the tahini paste here is darker than I would have liked, but that's due to me over toasting the seeds. If your tahini paste is this dark you may want to think about adding less to your hummus. 

3. Hummus time - Once the tahini is finished. Add ingredients to the blender. First...

tahini, more olive oil (1/4 cup) and lemon juice. I used a combination of fresh lemon juice and bottled lemon juice. Fresh is preferred for a better flavor.

Now add garlic...

salt...

...and cumin. Blend.

Add the chickpeas. Blend. If hummus is too dry add water and maybe even a little more olive oil. Play with the recipe to find the consistency you prefer.  

4. Enjoy! Hummus is great with a variety of vegetables and of course BREAD!

You may also like to top with a little more olive oil, paprika, red pepper flakes, a squirt of lemon juice, etc. Play around with the recipe and see what you like!