If you’ve tried to make hummous before (read recipe here), you might know that getting that creamy consistency is an elusive quest, with results varying from grainy to runny. But then again you would know that once that creaminess is reached, and the flavours of garlic, lemon juice, salt and tahini are in perfect balance, hummous is transformed from a simple dip to a culinary revelation.
The usual reason for failure in hummous is undercooked chickpeas. Hummous needs the chickpeas to be cooked so soft that a light squeeze breaks them down. This would mean around an hour and a half of boiling, which is a long time. Here’s where the humble white bean comes in. The beauty of the white bean is that it cooks in around half the time it takes a chickpea to cook. Once cooked, follow the recipe of hummous and you have yourself a delicious dip. Add some fried almonds on top and some olive oil and you’re in business. Now I’m sure the Lebanese make this dish, though I’ve never seen it made. If you’ve seen this dish before, let me know where and what you thought of it. If you haven’t, then you must try making it. It is seriously simple and so good, and goes beautifully with roast beef or lamb, or even on its own with a simple salad and Lebanese bread.
White Beans with Tahini and Almonds Recipe
Ingredients – These are approximate. Adjust to taste
- 2 cups white beans, soaked for 6 hours then boiled until super soft and refrigerated till cold
- juice of 1 lemon
- 5 tbsp of tahini
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup almond slivers, fried gently till golden brown (watch out, they burn quickly)
- olive oil to use as topping
Method
- Whiz all the beans, lemon juice, tahini, garlic and salt in a food processor until creamy and has no graininess
- Adjust the balance of ingredients until you like what you taste
- Spoon into a bowl and use the back of your spoon to create a circular mote to contain the olive oil and almond
- Eat with meat or salad or both, but definitely with bread
- Awesome
12 comments
A great idea to substitute white beans for chickpeas and I love the addition of toasted blanched almonds – I think I’d be surrepticiously stealing all of those 🙂 At first glance I thought those whte beans were pebbles – that’s how pretty look!
.-= Helen (grabyourfork)´s last blog ..How To Take Better Food Photos and the Rise of the Food Paparazzi =-.
Oh perfect! I’ve been looking for a new dip recipe…I’ll be trying this one out soon!
.-= JT @ areyouhungary´s last blog ..Monday Night M&M’s – Rosewater Meringues and Masterchef =-.
Looks delicious. Bread with olive oil AND hummous is a win-win for me 🙂
Oh boy, gimme a bowl and limitless bread and I’m as happy as a fat kid in a candy store
Incredible picture, though it looks to me like all of your photos are incredible.
I love the use of creamy white beans in hummus. You’ve made me hungry!
Yesterday I made a white bean dip with sesame seeds 🙂 Yours looks awesome!!
.-= Cherine´s last blog ..Eggplant dip – Baba ghannouj =-.
My dad makes it! He is a big fan of beans. I don’t really eat it but I eat the variations with potatoes or cauliflower. Give those a try 😀
.-= Viviane´s last blog ..Seafood Jambalaya for Easter Lunch =-.
I love the variation of the white beans. The photo is gorgeous. I get my Canon back today! Woo hoo! (It’s been in the shop so my poor photos have been lacking).
.-= Dawn Hutchins´s last blog ..Kid (and Adult) Friendly Red Beans and Rice =-.
beautiful! I am definitely trying this one out tomorrow for dinner. I feel like this could easily be thinned a tiny bit and used as a delicious salad dressing also.
Hi Fouad
Your photos are so beautiful; I have seen an American chef make this one time; his name is Bobby Flay and his specialty is grilling, I think. Anyway, I felt a sense of proprietary anger and turned off the show. I don’t know why I get slightly mad when non-Lebanese do hummos; I should probably see a shrink and discuss it.lol
Anyway, yours looks great and I am sure tastes just as great! Yum, I am going to try it someday. I liked the pumpkin hummos I made a year or so ago.
.-= tasteofbeirut´s last blog ..Carrot and fresh almonds salad =-.
sorry for my late reply. moving houses is never easy…
Helen – it is a stroke of genius, isnt it? 😛
JT – glad you enjoyed. let me know how you go
Tangerine eats – win/win for me too 🙂
FFichiban – lol. fat kid in a candy store… it’s pretty healthy this one though. you’ll be a skinny kid in a tahini store lol
Jenne – I’m glad you liked the photo. I’m always trying to improve 🙂
Cherine – sesame seeds sound great! i’ll try it next time
vivianne – cauliflower with tahini as a dip.. interesting. i like deep fried cauliflower with tahini, but never thought of blending them
Dawn – glad you liked the photo! it’s always good to have an SLR!
Alexx – how did you go? did it turn out nice?
Joumana – You mean iron chef bobby flay? i know what you mean when people outside your culture start messing about with your food hehehehe. the cheek on some people! pumpkin hummous. what is that?
Boil them cauliflowers and give it a try! It rocks!
Joumana I have some sort of similar thing to you, I hate to see people calling a bulgur with a tad of parsley and who knows what other veggies Tabbouleh! and I am not even a big Tabbouleh fan! You think I should book with a shrink too?
.-= Viviane´s last blog ..Falafel Preparation in Photos =-.