The night before hummus time, place ½ cup chickpeas with ½ teaspoon baking soda in a large bowl and cover them with cold water at least twice their volume. Soak overnight. The chickpeas will double in volume.

The next day, make your pomegranate syrup. Combine pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to ¼ the amount and let cool. Syrup will thicken as it cools.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them in a large pot with ½ teaspoon baking soda and cook for three minutes, constantly stirring. Add cold water to cover the chickpeas by at least 3 inches and bring to a boil. Skim off foam and cook for 1 hour until chickpeas are very tender and falling apart.

Drain the cooked chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid. Then put them in a food processor and puree. Then add in lemon juice, tahini, minced garlic cloves, cumin, olive oil, 1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup reduction and 3 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid. Puree and season with salt and pepper to taste, add more cooking liquid if your hummus is very thick.

When ready to serve, drizzle with extra pomegranate syrup (use extra over yogurt or ice cream!) and garnish with pomegranate arils.