Thursday, 13 November 2014

Entering the Hummus Wars!



This is a brave post, a very brave post! I have decided, after a great deal of hand wringing and a couple of sleepless nights to enter 'the hummus wars'. Yes, I'm sharing my recipe for hummus!

I still can't quite believe that I'm putting my recipe out there - alongside the recipes of great foodwriter Yotam Ottolenghi, and chef with cred,  George Calombaris!

Made from scratch my recipe is different in that it has a lovely 'tang' or 'bite'. It can be varied endlessly, and, well - everyone I know loves it and I'm regularly emailing the recipe to converts! So, (taking a big breath) here it is!


Hummus - My Way!


Ingredients


250 grams dried chick peas* – I prefer to use Ord River chickpeas, but use any good quality chickpea
1 tablespoon creamy tahini (health section of supermarket)
1 teaspoon cumin (powdered)
1 mild red chilli diced (optional)
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon (optional)
½ cup vinegar (homebrand) plus extra
½ cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra
Salt and pepper

Method


Soak the dried chickpeas in a very large bowl of water overnight. The chickpeas will swell up absorbing much of the water. Cover with more water if needed. Next morning pour the chickpeas and water into a large saucepan, add more water to cover the chickpeas by 3 to 5 centimetres. 



Bring to the boil and cook gently until the chickpeas are soft when tested. This will take 15 – 20 minutes. 

Tip:do closely watch that the chickpeas don’t boil over – it makes a big mess!

Drain the chickpeas into a colander when warm and place in food processor. Add the tahini, cumin, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper to taste together with the chilli and lemon juice and rind if using. You could also add a clove of crushed garlic at this point if you wish. 

Blitz!!!

Keep adding equal quantities of vinegar and oil until the mixture is ‘loose’. It thickens with standing!
Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Serve with pieces of pitta bread, savoury biscuits, grissini or vegetable crudites. It makes a healthy and delicious breakfast spread on grainy bread toast topped with slices of tomato and avocado, and can be used as a spread in sandwiches.

This makes enough for a crowd - if it lasts that long!

Enjoy!


Marian


*Use 2 cans of drained chickpeas if you prefer

**The cheapest vinegars give the bitiest tang to this hummus and allow it to keep for several days in the refrigerator. Hummus is no place for a delicate vinegar!



6 comments:

  1. A very brave (and delicious) post. Your hummus looks delicious.... pass me a cracker please. I have every respect for Mr O, as you well know, but I suspect that in his insistence that hummus be made his way, with dried chickpeas, he may not take into consideration that some people work full time and don't have time to be soaking things overnight etc. Great post!

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    1. Like Mr O I prefer to make hommus from scratch and have a nice little routine for doing this - but 9 year old Grandson No 1 makes delicious hummus from canned chickpeas! People should not be afraid to use the canned product - it is a cheap and fuss free way to make this fabulous dip!

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  2. Nice recipe, thanks Marian. I prefer to use dried chick peas, but have found they are fabulously easy to cook in bulk in the slow cooker and that they freeze really well. I freeze in small amounts and just defrost in a couple of minutes by running them under some cold water.

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    1. Amanda, thanks for the feedback! I've not tried cooking chickpeas in the slowcooker, or freezing them! They are hints I'll be trying in the very near future! Thanks again!

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  3. Yum, I love humus and also am a fan of Yotum's cookbooks. I suppose the diced chili would also give your humus some 'tang'!

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    1. Hi Fran! The chilli does provide some extra 'tang' - but because I use mild chilli it's very pleasant. My young grandsons love it!

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