Hummus with Olives
Chickpea purée topped with olive oil and chopped olives; with bread or vegetables.
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Cuisine
- Mediterranean
Hummus is the shared inheritance of Levantine cooking — Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian — and an established meze in Türkiye, particularly around Hatay and Adana. The name means simply "chickpea" in Arabic; saying "hummus" is naming the main ingredient.
This version adds a salty, sharp counterpoint to the soft, oily base of the purée. Hummus is already a dish completed by olive oil; spooning chopped olives over it takes that relationship one step further.
Directions
- Remove the chickpea skins — this is the single secret to silky hummus.
- Put the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and salt in a processor.
- Blend to a smooth purée, adding the iced water a little at a time; iced water loosens the paste and lightens its colour.
- Add three tablespoons of the olive oil and blend once more.
- Spread on a plate and make a well in the centre with the back of a spoon.
- Spoon the chopped olives into the well and pour over the remaining olive oil.
- Serve with chilli flakes and parsley.
Tips & storage
Peeling the chickpeas is not a myth. Chickpea skin is cellulose and does not break down in a processor; it is the single thing standing between you and a silky hummus. Rubbing the cooked chickpeas lightly between your palms and floating the skins off in water takes ten minutes and transforms the texture.
Iced water, not ordinary water. Cold water binds the oil in the tahini and both lightens and whitens the purée. Hummus made with warm water comes out grey and heavy.
Whisk the tahini with the lemon first. If you like, beat the tahini and lemon juice together before the chickpeas go in; the mixture seizes, then turns creamy. This step makes a noticeable difference to how light the hummus is.
Warm chickpeas blend better. Take them to the processor without cooling them; warm chickpeas break down more smoothly.
Don't stir the olives in — spoon them on. Stirred through, olives turn the hummus grey and throw the salt off balance.
Storage. Three days in the fridge under a film of olive oil. Add the olives at the moment of serving.
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