Abu Hassan, the glorious Jaffa’s hummus
Jaffa, an ancient town with a glorious history, turned into a unique culinary gem. Packed with gourmet restaurants and boutique eateries, yet many flock to Jaffa for one reason: Abu Hassan’s hummus.
Jaffa is a city of contrasts. On one hand, it has a charged historical background. On the other, it’s a peaceful, friendly, hospitable place, and it is as beautiful as Tel-Aviv could never be.
In Jaffa you can find, side by side, luxurious mansions and neglected old buildings. Gourmet restaurants and cheap eateries. Wretchedness and glory, in an impossible mixture. And a lot of hummus.
No one knows how many hummus places are there in Jaffa. A dozen of them or so are well known and the many others are less famous but maintain their own fan clubs. And there is, of course, Abu Hassan, which warrants a category of its own.
In most hummus eateries the hummus is good or even very good. Clients are greeted with a big smile and are served black coffee or tea with nana (mint) and baklava at the end of the meal. Abu Hassan serves hummus, with or without ful, massabha or a “Triplet”, which is a combination of the three. It takes seconds for the plate to reach the table and minutes till the meal is finished. Not everybody appreciate this style, but many do.
Abu Hassan’s secret
Hassan is a second-generation hummus maker. The recipe is his mother’s. When we asked him he said there was no “secret” to his hummus. Yet, the people who flock to his restaurant from all over will disagree: no hummus taste like his, so there must be a secret.
Part of the secret, of course, is the reputation. Many people gather in line, some will end up with a plastic plate, a smile on their face, happily wiping hummus while sitting on the fence overlooking the beach. This is how happy people look like.
Comments
21 Responses to “Abu Hassan, the glorious Jaffa’s hummus”
Got something to say?
E-mail updates
The hummus SHOP
Buy tahini, chickpeas, olive oil, falafel mix., halva & more.
What’s the red and yellow stuff on the hummus?
the red is paprika
the yellow just seems to be the glare off the olive oil
both add some nice flavour to the humus
if you ever go there, get it with ‘ful’ (fava beans)… they make it delicious
Shooky – please email me – I need to achieve a hummus as close to abu hassan as possible – i need your help
over the last few years I’ve eaten at abu hassan a lot when i am in Israel. his hummus is really our of this world. some people say he adds eggs to the pot of hummus? any idea how they get the texture? to they pass the hummus though a tammy or sieve “messanen dak me’od”???
thanks,
Ore
[...] wonder if they would still laughing if I could take them to Abu Hassan in Jaffa, or to Said in Acre, places where – like in their convention – people gather around tables [...]
[...] residents of Tel-Aviv could always go for their hummus to Jaffa, which is minutes away by car. They still do, and some of them would go for their beloved hummus as [...]
[...] any case, my favorite version of hummus is masabacha, at Abu Hassan (Ali Karavan) in Yaffo (sorry, I can’t find an appropriate link in [...]
[...] hummus (חומוס), Itay and Ziv Erlich took me to Abu Hassan. This is a really small yet well known place in Jaffa that opens in the morning and closes when [...]
[...] Zetlin’s recent video was a pleasent surprise. Not only because it’s main theme is Abu Hassan, the hummus guru from Jaffa, but because it really captured the Jaffa’s (and Tel [...]
I LIVE IN THE USA. HOW CAN I BUY SOME AUTHENTIC ISRAELI HUMMUS.
STU
Very true, also, it’s not just the flavor but the texture as well which compliments the first one very well.
[...] schon einige Zeit zurück (1990), aber immerhin für damals kann ich bestätigen, was der “Hummus-Blog” anschulich und amüsant beschreibt: Jaffa is a city of contrasts. On one hand, it has a [...]
Make some yourself, you can buy the dry pies in a spice shop and thini in a health store or ethnic section of your mega-mart.
The stuff exported to europe and usa by tzabar and other companies tastes like shit,just like the stuff sold in supermarkets here. They substilute most of the thini with oil and use additives to inhance texture after its degraded.
Also a high dose of preservative (pot. sorbate) is used to extend shelf life.
On another note,
Im a krayot guy and love eating at Saiid.
I cant understand how the humus in abu hassan is served without fresh vegies!
The real plessure is whiping humus with a piece of onion or a ripe tomato.
I just made some humus today and have left over cooked (unhummused) beans which will be used for tomorows friday lunch
Here is my secret: Some humust veriaties cannot be skin pealed by the towel trick before cooking. the skins are very hard to remove during cooking, they dont float.
I cant imagine straining the cooking water and spending 30 minutes seperating skins.
SOOOO… I run my hot soft humus through a fine seive.
This is the secret to fine,not grainy hummus (like the one in saiiid).
Enjoy.
No such thing as “authentic israeli” Hummus.
Hummus was adopted by the immigrant jews, basically like everything else. Falafel, Baklawa, Music, shawarma etc etc etc.
[...] a drizzle of oil and the whole chickpeas. The Israelis were talking of some fabled cook’s top-secret hummus recipe, perhaps that of Abu Hassan’s in Jaffa? Food preferences unite Israelis and Arabs. If only [...]
Go to an arab store since hummus isn’t authentically israeli
Best hummus ever
In case canaan and shamouti didn’t notice, most of the places recommended here ARE Arab places.
As for “authentic” hummus, it depends on the recipe and the ingredients, not the ethnicity of the cook.
[...] such good care of us and did such a great job… I just feel like he is an old friend. From Abu Hassan’s Hummus shop to the Reading 3 to Jerusalem, it just couldn’t have been better. Well, back to the [...]
[...] Yoezer Wine Bar and Abulafia Bakery . Today, my mission was to sample the heralded hummus of Abu Hassan. Flea [...]
Authentic Israeli Humous does exist and it is the style of Humous that is made in Israel. Humous originates from the Levant of which Isreal is a part. As a side note, Jews have lived in the Levant for more than 3,000 years, in the areas now known as Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan unlike the Arab invaders who only came to the area from Arabia about 1,400 years ago. So it is actually the Arabs that have adopted this delicious dish
[...] What do you order in a hummus restaurant that offers more than 30 different types of the good stuff? It’s an extremely hard choice. I generally keep it classic with a tahini hummus or maybe get a bit crazy with some sort of fava, pine nut, or vegetable-flavored version of the creamy goodness. Just get me a piece of pita for dipping, and I’m a happy girl. I had fab hummus at Magic Carpet on Emek Rafaim, Lina in Jerusalem’s Old City and Abu Hassan in Jaffa. [...]