Homemade Hummus and Tahini

In bulk

Last weekend while I was shopping in Avelino (this is now my favorite place to shop :) I came across the bulk grains stands and saw that they had garbanzo beans. So I decided I would try to make homemade hummus. Haha, then I realized good hummus is made with tahini and I can't buy it here.

Tahini dip, raw tahini paste, soaking garbanzo beans

I decided this is a good time to learn to make my own tahini. The recipe looks simple enough:
Grind up a few cups of toasted sesame seeds and less olive oil... I think.


So I toasted up the sesame seeds first and then threw them in the blender. When it turned into some kind of dry paste I started to add the olive oil until it had the consistency I wanted. When it was finished I tested some by making a tahini dip (I added water, salt, lime juice-they don't have lemons here, and at the end some of my reserve za'atar). It turned out much better than I expected.

I saved the reserve paste in a jar.

 

Final hummus

Then I made the hummus. I soaked the garbanzo beans for 2 days then ground them in the blender by adding some of the water they were soaking in for consistency. I added salt, black pepper, cumin, lime juice and some olive oil until it tasted alright. I think it's a little bitter and I don't know why. Maybe I should add more salt or not grind the beans with the left over water but should use fresh water instead. Next time I'll look up a recipe for the hummus. After I added the tahini dip it tasted a lot better, but still not the best.