Homemade Houmous..

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Houmous.. (15)

It was the 1st July, and another glorious day. We took a Sunday morning walk down at Titanic  – that lovely cool breeze (which in Wintertime would chill you to the bone) was the bonus – and as we walked back, we discussed lunch.

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I love to see tourists having fun at Titanic!

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Nomadic, and Napoleon’s Nose in the background!

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Don’t forget to get your picture taken at the Titanic sign :)

Out of the blue, Mr Saturday Night fancied Hummus on flatbread.

‘Where could we get some?’ he wondered.

‘Leave that to me, old son’ I responded. And lo and behold, about 10 minutes after we got home I’d whipped up this delicious, and oh-so-easy dip.

It’s a perfect accompaniment to drinks in the garden, or as part of a Mezze plate starter  for a relaxed dinner, and if you have a tin of Chickpeas in the cupboard, can literally be ready to eat in minutes. This little recipe will keep well (covered) in the fridge for a couple of days. May I recommend that you add it to your repertoire immediately!

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EQUIPMENT:

  • A food processor
  • a spatula

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INGREDIENTS: to make the amount in the photographs here

  • A tin of Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 teaspoon of ground Cumin
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1-2 tablespoonfuls of Olive Oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • See NOTES for other optional ingredients

METHOD:

  • Put the Chickpeas, Cumin, lemon juice, one tablespoon of oil, and the salt and pepper into the bowl of the food processor.

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  • Blitz for a minute or so, then scrape down the sides with the scapula. Blitz again, and repeat until you get the texture that you like. If the mixture looks dry, add some more Olive oil. The pictures show a fairly finely-ground Hummus, but of course you can have it as chunky or smooth as you like.

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  • You will need to scrape down the sides several times during the processing to ensure that the mixture is the same texture all the way through.
  • When you’ve reached that stage, scrape it down again, then use a teaspoon to taste a bit. I added another half-teaspoon of Cumin, and a little more lemon juice and oil to get the taste and texture I wanted today.

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  • Empty the whole lot into a bowl, drizzle a little more Olive oil on top and decorate with some toasted pine nuts if you have them handy, or a sprig of whatever herb you have sitting on the window sill, which for me today was Mint – remember my Hugo Cocktail? https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/cocktail-hugo/  –  the sun’s still shining and we’re still enjoying them!)

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  • Serve with toasted flatbread, pitta bread, or fresh vegetable crudités (for some reason I particularly like carrot batons with this)

NOTES:

  • Hummus/ Houmous – apparently both spellings are correct!
  • You can add masses of things to the basic recipe, such as fresh garlic (add it sparingly though, as it’s pretty potent when it’s raw!), or Tahini, which is often a basic ingredient of hummus. It’s a sesame puree, but I tend not to use it, for no particular reason. A red chilli will always add an extra kick, but again, add it sparingly until you see how hot it is.
  • I use the oil to make the Hummus more spreadable, but if you’re counting calories, you could always just use water or some of the liquid from the can. As usual, make this recipe work for you.
  • Don’t forget that you can use the Hummus as a spread instead of butter on sandwiches or wraps.(handy for vegan guests)
  • One of my favourite uses is to dry-fry a wrap or large flatbread, spread a generous dollop of hummus over it, add some fresh leaves and cucumber sticks, some shredded Chicken or crispy lamb or duck, and top with a generous spoonful of Greek yoghurt, before rolling it up and tucking in!

 

About

I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx

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