Today I’m sharing a variation on traditional hummus: hummus bizeit, or olive oil hummus.
This version of hummus is much lighter and earthier than the hummus you’re more familiar with. It uses four simple ingredients: chickpeas, olive oil, cumin, a bit of garlic and salt (okay, five ingredients).
This dish comes from my parents hometown of Homs and is typically eaten for breakfast. While the Egyptians have ful, Homsis have hummus bizeit. Every once in awhile, my mom treated us to a huge breakfast spread on the weekends, and it was quite common to see a smattering of olive oil hummus, makdous (olive-oil cured eggplant), labneh (strained yogurt), cheese, etc. My grandfather reportedly regularly picked up a bowl of this stuff (along with a bowl of the tahini hummus because he loved both) on his way home from Friday prayer to feed the whole family.
I couldn’t find any history as to why the Homsis started making hummus with olive oil, but I’m happy they did, because it’s so delicious.
Because of its basic ingredients, it’s really important you use a good quality olive oil and ground cumin. Once you’ve cooked and drained the chickpeas, it comes together super quickly! The recipe is best prepared ahead and left to marinate in the fridge for a few hours. Try it for breakfast this weekend!
If you do try it, leave it in the comments or tag @omayahatassi or #omayahcooks on Instagram. I can’t wait to see!
Hummus Bizeit (Olive Oil Hummus)
Ingredients
- 1 c dried chickpeas
- 1 tsp baking soda, divided
- 1.5 -2 c good olive oil, plus more for serving
- 2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 garlic clove
- Salt
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas in about double its volume of water with 1/2 tsp baking soda overnight, up to 12 hours
- Drain the chickpeas and place in a large stockpot. Cover again with about double its volume of water (the chickpeas should be larger now) and bring to a simmer.
- After about 10 minutes, add the other 1/2 tsp of baking soda with about 1 Tbsp of salt (you should be able to taste the salt in the water).
- Let simmer over medium-low heat for about an hour or until a chickpea smashes easily with your finger
- Drain the chickpeas and let cool slightly. Dump them into a bowl of a food processor, reserving a few chickpeas for serving. Add about 1.5 c of olive oil and the cumin. Whiz until it's smooth, about 5 minutes. If the hummus is too thick, add more olive oil and whiz again. Adjust cumin and salt.
- Refrigerate for an hour or two in an air-tight container to completely cool and let the flavors marinate.
- When ready to serve, bring to room temperature, drizzle with olive oil and top with the reserved chickpeas. Enjoy with pita bread and a plate of pickles!