The Only Important Question to Ask

In the Middle East, everyone has their own hummus recipe. Our hummus recipe is no more authentic than any other. Nothing should stop you, the reader, from changing it according to your taste, adding more (or less) tahini, lemon juice, or garlic. Should you mix these ingredients together before adding them to the hummus, or perhaps they should be added gradually, one after another? None of this matters so much. The only important question to ask has to do with the chickpeas: Should they be skinned before being pureed, or should they be mashed just as they are? Two Lebanese writers, Nohad Boulus Guillaume and Ibrahim Muzaner, prefer to remove the skin. The method used by both writers is unique: They start off by toasting the chickpeas in a dry pot before adding bicarbonate soda, and only then do they pour boiling water over them. The skin comes off little by little, and then it is a bit like a game, collecting the chickpeas using only a spatula.