Hummus soup
Hummus soup is a Cypriot soup my ‘pappou’ (grandfather) used to make for us. You know when certain family members are known to make specific dishes? Well this hummus soup was definitely my grandfather’s when we were living in Cyprus. I would watch him methodically prepare the chickpeas, skimming the foam formed while they were boiling. Then taking his time blending the chickpeas with the liquid until the perfect consistency was reached.
The ingredients needed
The hummus soup has the ingredients of the hummus dip we all know and love, the main difference being the consistency and the temperature it is served at. And just like the hummus dip, preparing it using dry chickpeas might take that bit of extra preparation of soaking the legumes first. Then you need to boil them for long enough so that they are completely soft and blend them using the liquid the chickpeas were boiling in.
It is important to note that the proportions of these ingredients for the hummus soup are up to your individual taste so you should try it as you cook to add more or less of the flavourings. The various brands of tahini may also affect the amount of salt and lemon juice you will add as some are bitter than others.
The soup has a thinner consistency than that of a dip but it’s not completely runny. Also the more you boil the chickpeas the smoother the soup will be. Keep in mind that the soup thickens once it gets colder or after it is kept in the fridge. To help loosen it add a few drops of water, stir and then warm it up to enjoy.
The toppings my ‘pappou’ used to cut up for us to add included: chopped tomatoes, parsley and olives. I’ve also heard of others adding crusty bread on the bottom of their bowl and pouring the soup over it.
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- 500 g dry chickpeas
- 1 tsp baking sodap
- 3.5 L of water
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 tbs tahini
- 2/3 cup lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- Olives
- Chopped parsley
- Diced tomatoes
- Olive oil
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Soak the chickpeas in a bowl with enough water to cover them for a minimum 12 hours and stir through the baking soda. The chickpeas will absorb the water and expand, so make sure there is enough water in the bowl to fully submerge them.them. Before you boil the chickpeas wash them well to remove any baking soda residue.e esu
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Bring the water to a boil and add the soaked chickpeas, before reducing the heat to a simmer. The chickpeas will form a white foam which you will need to remove with a slotted spoon. Allow the chickpeas to simmer for about 1 ½ hours or until they are completely softened. The time may vary between the different packet brands.
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Strain the chickpeas once cooked but reserve the liquid that the chickpeas were boiling in to be used to blend the soup. Return the chickpeas in the pot with the salt, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice. Then slowly pour some of the reserved liquid and begin to blend it all using an immersion blender.
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Keep adding more liquid until you are happy with the consistency. As an indication overall I added 1.3L of the chickpea liquid, I prefer this soup to be thick. After you blend the ingredients, simply bring the soup to a boil and then remove it off the heat.
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Serve the soup warm with the recommended toppings.
Be mindful that the soup thickens further when colder. For the last step you may choose to use a heat proof blender as well, it just may get a bit messier as you need to blend the soup in batches.
For your information 500g dry chickpeas ended up weighing 1.2kg once cooked.
Do you add the baking soda at the start of the 12hr soak or after?
Guys, hummus soup without garlic it’s simply inconceivable! Please adjust your recipe.
Thank you so much for your comment. My pappou never used to add garlic when he’d make it for us but of course if you wish to you can 🙂
Couldn’t imagine this soup being the same without Garlic