The power of three… hummus
Hummus
A staple of the Levantine throughout history, and now on the mezze board of all Middle-Eastern, Turkish, Greek and other Mediterranean mezze boards.
I appreciate this is not a recipe in which yoghurt is included. However, whilst I was on the train of thought of easy, three ingredient dips, it seemed unfair not to give hummus its time in the limelight.
Once again, an example of a food which is ultra-healthy and ultra-tasty in equal measures. No trade-offs for this one. The winning combination this time is chickpeas, lemon juice and tahini. Being chickpea heavy, means it’s also protein heavy, and thus healthy. The lemon and tahini combine to create a thick umami depth which make this a delicious snack or full meal if you have it with a good sourdough for lunch.
A general guide to making hummus:
- Chickpeas, soaked and boiled- one can or a large dishful
- Lemon juice of half a lemon
- Generous dollop of tahini (for those of you not a fan of tahini, believe me, you won’t taste it- but it adds an incredible protein punch).
So, you can buy chickpeas ready-to-go in a can. This would make the whole recipe a lot quicker. But, naturally, I enjoy doing things the hard way. Thus, I soak a cup of dried chickpeas overnight. Ensure that your bowl is large enough because they will treble in size. Usually, with a cup-full, they will eventually fill two medium sized curry/salad bowls. Then cook them on the hob, simmering in water for a few hours- essentially until they are no longer crunchy. As you can see, these steps are not tricky, just time consuming. It’s only if you are bloody minded or a food purist like me (purely because I don’t want someone else to have processed my food before me!) that you’ll complete these steps. Pop the chickpeas into a food processer and add the juice of half a medium sized lemon and a generous dollop of tahini. And that’s it. As usual, you can add other seasonings or ingredients to your taste. So, I don’t consider it a proper hummus if it doesn’t also include a clove of garlic and more dessertspoons of olive oil than you’d imagine. In fact, ditch the dessertspoon and go straight for a tablespoon- a few of these with the best olive oil you can find. This graduates it from a thick paste to a more spreadable or scoopable dip. You could include a good grind of pepper or spoonful of paprika. The latter is a personal favourite. But really, it’s a 3-ingredient dip: chickpeas, lemon juice, and tahini. If you skip the chickpea preparation, the rest of the recipe may take you 5 mins.
Post-script:
This recipe is totally palate dependant. Keep tasting and adding to your liking. Although don’t overdo the lemon juice… or the tahini, for that matter… unless you’re a real fan of sesame.