At its most basic, there's not much more to making homemade hummus [1] than blitzing together cooked chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and a couple choice seasonings like lemon juice, garlic, or cumin. Next-level, Mediterranean-restaurant-grade hummus takes hardly more effort, thanks to two simple tricks.

If you have more time to spare, start by cooking chickpeas from scratch [2], then use your fingertips to rub off the tough skins before blending together the naked chickpeas, tahini, and other ingredients. If time is at a premium, glean this tip from Victoria Granof's Short Stack Vol. 17: Chickpeas [3]: To revive canned chickpeas, first drain and rinse the chickpeas before adding them to a saucepan with enough cold water to cover and a pinch of baking soda; bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes before draining and using in the recipe. The combination of heat and baking soda softens the chickpea skins, making them blend up smoother.