Simple Steam Oven Hummus

Put the dried chickpeas into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse well with cold water. Place the rinsed chickpeas into a medium oven-safe saucepan and add the water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, the bay leaf, and 2 teaspoons salt.

Place the chickpeas in the cold oven.

Cook until the chickpeas are very tender and squish easily against the back of a fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes after the oven is fully heated. The chickpeas are ready once they are mostly split and the skins have loosened from around the chickpeas themselves.

Remove the saucepan from the oven and place on a trivet to cool the beans in the hot liquid for 30 minutes.

Discard the bay leaf, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the warm cooked chickpeas to a food processor. Reserve the cooking liquid. Pulse until coarsely chopped, then measure out 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the food processor. Blend until mostly smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. If you have trouble blending the chickpeas, add an additional tablespoon of liquid until the blend freely. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil, the tahini, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, the garlic, cumin, a large pinch of salt, and several large grinds of black pepper. Blend until the mixture is extremely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally, about 3 minutes. Thin with more cooking liquid, a tablespoon at a time, if you prefer a looser consistency, and season with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice if desired.

Spoon the hummus into a shallow bowl, make a well in the center, and drizzle liberally with additional olive oil. Dust with paprika and toasted sesame seeds (if using) then serve with sliced vegetables, pita bread or chips, and/or crackers.