Silky Hummus with Brown Butter and Pine Nuts
Canned chickpeas simmered until their skins slip off, blitzed past the point most home hummus stops, then pooled with butter browned until it smells nutty.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Written
Method
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Simmer the chickpeas with the baking soda in 3 cups water for 10 minutes, until the skins loosen and float free.
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Drain the chickpeas and rub them between your hands under cool running water until most of the skins wash away.
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Blend the tahini and lemon juice in a food processor for a full minute, until the mixture turns pale and creamy.
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Add the garlic, salt, and chickpeas, and process until mostly smooth.
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With the processor running, stream in the ice water and blend for 2 minutes, until the hummus turns fluffy and lightens in color.
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Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat, swirling constantly, until it turns amber and smells nutty.
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Add the pine nuts to the browned butter and toast for 1 minute, until golden.
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Spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, swirl a well in the center, and pour the brown butter and pine nuts into it. Finish with paprika and parsley.
Notes
The baking soda simmer is what separates this from the dense, gluey hummus that comes from just draining a can and hitting it with a blender. Softening and sloughing off the skins is what lets the chickpeas actually break down into something smooth instead of grainy — skip it and no amount of processing time will fix the texture. The long blend with ice water afterward is doing real work too: that’s what whips air into the paste and turns it pale.
The brown butter is a departure from the usual olive-oil pool on top, but it holds up the same way — pour it on right before serving so it stays warm against the cold hummus. Warm pita or torn flatbread is the only accompaniment this needs.