Hummus, the king of the Middle East: 5 different recipes to prepare it

Perfect for aperitifs, special guest of Western cuisine, loved all over the world so much that it is celebrated on an international day, May 13th. Hummus with tahini would be his real name, which in Arabic means “Chickpeas with tahini”: a velvety cream that brings with it scents of exotic spices, Mediterranean citrus and aromas of ancient lands. Hummus is the king of the Middle East. Many countries claim paternity, but its origin is still unknown today. So if you find yourself at the table with Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians or Egyptians be careful not to ask who invented hummus.

Everyone will tell you their own version of the story that gets confused with myths and legends, because hummus is a matter of national identity to be proudly preserved.

What is certain is that chickpeas, the basic ingredient of hummus, have always been widespread throughout the Mediterranean area and would even go back to Turkey 10,000 years ago., according to Anissa Helou, Syrian-Lebanese author of many Middle Eastern cookbooks: “it is one of the first legumes ever grown.” Instead, it seems more difficult to understand when the practice of combining the ingredients that give life to this exquisite cream dates back. Some even claim that hummus is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in a passage from the Book of Ruth where we read: “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the hometz.” If for some the word hometz it sounds like hummus, while others interpret it in the modern Hebrew sense as vinegar.

However, the Israelis argue loudly that hummus is Israeli, while the Palestinians argue that hummus has existed in Palestine long before the state of Israel was founded in 1948. In 2009, the so-called “war of ‘hummus’ between Israelis and Lebanese on who would produce the largest hummus dish in the world. Since 2010, the record has been held by Lebanon, with a ten-ton dish. The documentary Hummus! The movie testifies to this war that inevitably makes us smile. In addition, the president of the Lebanese Industrialists’ Association, angered that hummus has become known and marketed throughout the West as an Israeli dish, sued Israel for violating food copyright laws. The Lebanese government has also petitioned the European Union to have hummus recognized as a Lebanese dish. Both efforts proved ineffective.

I Syriansinstead, they are backed by Charles Perry, an American culinary historian and expert in medieval Arab cuisine, who considers hummus “a sophisticated urban product, not an ancient popular dish”, judging by the custom of serving it, finely garnished, in a red clay bowl. According to Perry, hummus therefore spread to Damascus in the eighteenth century, at the time a large city ruled by a refined ruling class. Still another theory attributes the invention of hummus to Egypt, because already the 13th century Cairo cookbooks described a dish based on cold chickpea puree, vinegar, pickled lemon, herbs and spices.

Disputes aside, we can say that hummus is a Middle Eastern dish claimed by everyone and owned by no one. But also a love story for one’s land that binds, despite everything, the countries of the Middle East in the name of millennial common customs and traditions.

So here are some tips for those who want to prepare this relatively simple recipe. L’hummus it can be served cold or hot, at any time of the day, accompanied by pita, falafel or vegetable crudité. But how to decorate it, with chickpeas, olives or a sprinkling of sumac?
Discover in the gallery the best known hummus recipes from Middle Eastern countries, very similar yet different for minimal variations.
And remember that there is no recipe for every country, rather a hummus for every home. The secret ingredient is its own story to be blended with chickpeas, tahini and spices.