1. Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan and sprinkle with the baking soda.
2. Cover the chickpeas by several inches of water, then bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling, reducing heat if necessary to prevent overflow, for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas look bloated, their skins are falling off, and they’re quite soft.  Reserve 1/4 – 1/2 cup of the liquid.
3. In a fine-mesh strainer, drain the chickpeas and run cool water over them for about 30 seconds. Set aside.  The skins should have peeled off, pick them out if necessary.
4. Meanwhile, in a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt.
5. Pulse until the garlic is very finely chopped, then let the mixture rest so the garlic flavor can mellow, ideally 10 minutes or longer.
6. Add the tahini to the food processor and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy, stopping to scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary.
7. While running the food processor, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid. Scrape down the food processor, and blend until the mixture is ultra smooth, pale and creamy.
8. Add the cumin and the drained, over-cooked chickpeas to the food processor. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until the mixture is super smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, about 2 minutes. Add more reserved liquid by the tablespoon if necessary to achieve a super creamy texture.

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER:

1. Spread the hummus out on a rectangular platter and layer the cucumbers, peppers, olives, cheese and pine nuts on top.
2. Drizzle olive oil over and around the hummus.  Sprinkle paprika and fresh parsley on top.
3. Serve with fresh pita bread, chips or vegetables.