Hummus Soup
Hummus Soup is a delicious, easy way of using up leftovers of the ever-popular chickpea and tahini dip. Light and refreshing, but so tasty, it can be ready in just five minutes. Perfect for a quick lunch or unusual first course, I like to top each bowl with extra spices like cumin, sumac, and Aleppo pepper plus a sprinkle of herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil. For contrasting crunch, scatter over some crunchy croutons.
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Many years ago, I came up with the idea of a chickpea soup based on the flavours of hummus (or houmous if you prefer). However, the reality was never quite as good as the lightly creamy and lemony soup of my imagination. It just seemed too heavy.
I’ve since discovered that, as well as hummus soup being an actual thing (in the form of Turkish/Cypriot Hummus Çorbası), the way to the fresh and zingy version I was after isn’t to try to create a hot version of hummus. It’s to start with regular hummus.
Of course, there’s no reason why you can’t whizz up a batch of homemade hummus* especially to make this soup. But I always make it with leftover hummus. Just last week I’d made some to go on a lunchtime sandwich along with a crunchy carrot and celery salad. For dinner, we had more in Socca flatbreads with lamb meatballs and falafel. As there was still some left, the next day I turned it into Hummus Soup.
*Homemade Hummus. For a simple hummus, put into a blender a tin of drained chickpeas (usually around 240 grams), 2 tbsp tahini, plus a little of the liquid you drained off. Add the juice of a lemon, 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic mashed with salt, plus 1 heaped tsp ground cumin. Whizz, adding more liquid if needed to get a smooth puree (thick or thinner, as preferred). Keep tasting and adding more lemon juice, salt, garlic, or cumin until it tastes good to you.
EASY HUMMUS SOUP
With your hummus already made, the soup really does take just a few minutes. In fact, it’s probably worth getting together all the little garnishes before you start the soup.
All you do is put the hummus in a small saucepan then whisk in hot water. Add as much or as little as you need to get the consistency you like. For the soup you see in this post, I had 120 grams of hummus and added around 100 ml of water. My hummus was already quite loose as I’d originally made it for drizzling. I also wanted a light, thin soup. If you prefer a thicker soup, just use more hummus and/or less water.
Season the soup with salt and lemon juice. Just like making hummus, the key thing is to keep tasting and adjusting until the soup is how you like it. Now you bring it to a gentle simmer. As soon as it’s warm, take the soup off the heat.
SERVING HUMMUS SOUP
I prefer to eat this fresh and light soup when it’s just warm rather than hot. As with many simple dishes, it’s with the garnishes that you can make Hummus Soup your own. And also turn it into something really visually appealing. Over each bowl, I like to add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of ground sumac and cumin, mildly fruity and warm Aleppo pepper, plus finely chopped coriander leaf. Choose any or all of those and/or paprika (smoked or not) or parsley.
For textural contrast with the smooth, lightly creamy soup, and to make it more filling, some crunchy croutons are lovely too. These days, I make them in my air fryer. I toss small cubes of good firm bread in olive oil and a little salt then put in the air fryer preheated to 200 C. Depending on what size you made them and how many, the croutons should take 4 – 8 minutes to get golden and crispy. Be sure to give them a good shake now and then for even cooking. You can also bake the croutons in a conventional oven where they’ll take a little longer.
If you’ve made this quick and easy, refreshing soup, I’d love to know what you thought. Please leave a comment and rating.
Hummus Soup
A light and refreshing, quick and easy way to use up leftovers of the ever-popular chickpea and tahini dip.
Perfect for a quick lunch or unusual first course, top each bowl with extra spices, chopped herbs, a drizzle of olive oil plus crunchy croutons if you like.
Ingredients
- 120 g hummus see blog post for a basic hummus recipe
- 75 - 150 ml warm water (boil a kettle then leave to cool a little) see Instructions
- salt to taste
- lemon juice to taste
Garnishes (choose any or all)
- croutons see Recipe Notes
- extra virgin olive oil
- ground sumac
- ground cumin
- Aleppo pepper
- paprika
- parsley or coriander leaf finely chopped
Instructions
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Put the hummus in a small saucepan and gradually whisk enough of the warm water to create the soup consistency you want.
Tip: rinse out the hummus container with some of the warm water to get all of it out and into the soup.
Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.
Bring to a gentle simmer then take off the heat and cool a little.
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Serve the soup just warm with some or all of the garnishes over each bowl.
Recipe Notes
Homemade Croutons. Toss small cubes of good firm bread in olive oil and a little salt. Cook in an air fryer preheated to 200C or in a conventional oven preheated to 220C / 200C Fan / Gas 7 / 425F. Depending on what size you made them and how many, the croutons should take 4 - 8 minutes to get golden and crispy in an air fryer, a few minutes longer in a conventional oven. Be sure to shake or turn the croutons now and then for even cooking.
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