Pink Beet Hummus with homemade cooked chickpeas

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade cooked chickpeas ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water.

   Bowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Drain, cover with plenty of unsalted water and cook 1.5–2 hours, skimming off the foam and skins from time to time, until the chickpeas are very soft and crush easily between your fingers.

   ColanderStovePot

   💡Fully cooked chickpeas crush between your fingers with no resistance at all. Chickpeas that stay a little firm make a grainy spread, and no amount of tahini will fix it.
3. 3
   Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

   Colander

For the Cooked chickpeas

1. 4
   Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

   Colander

For the Tahini sauce

1. 5
   Mix the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and cumin and season with salt.

To assemble

1. 6
   Cut the beets into cubes.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 7
   Transfer the tahini sauce to a food processor, add the chickpeas, still warm, and process 3–5 minutes, until it is completely smooth.

   Food processor

   💡Grind the chickpeas while they are still warm: warm chickpeas grind into a smoother cream than cold ones.
3. 8
   Add the beets and part of the olive oil and process for another minute.

   Food processor
4. 9
   Gradually add the water, until the hummus is creamy and airy, and a little thinner than the texture you want: it thickens as it stands.

   💡Ice water, not ordinary water, gives hummus an airy, pale texture: the tahini emulsifies with it like mayonnaise.
5. 10
   Spread on a plate, make a well in the center and add the rest of the olive oil.