Who doesn’t like Hummus?
No seriously, who doesn’t like it? I sometimes think that I could live on a a diet of decent – and this recipe is very decent – Hummus!
This is a basic recipe, but if you look around the supermarkets, you’ll see Hummus with all sorts of additions. See NOTES below for suggestions. So, add virtually whatever you like to this basic recipe, or serve it as it is. Either way, you’ll have a delicious plate of homemade Hummus for a fraction of the price the supermarkets charge for a teeny-weeny pot!
Virtually everything in this recipe can be kept in your larder – tins of chickpeas, Tahini, Cumin, etc.
Just be careful not to feed it to someone with a Sesame allergy. Actually, as the Mother of a nut-allergic child, I never bothered with Tahini when I was making Hummus back in the day, and it tasted fine. Again, you can add whichever spices are your favourite. Mine is Cumin, I just love it, but I think ground Coriander would be great too.
EQUIPMENT:
- A small food processor, or a hand-held blender.
- A sieve
- a high-side glass or ceramic jug
- A spatula
- a shallow plate to serve
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tin of chickpeas, drained, washed and dried
- 2 dessertspoons of Tahini paste
- Good pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground Cumin
- a good squeeze of Lemon juice – about 1 tablespoon to start off with.
- 2-3 tablespoons of Olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- 2 tablespoons of cold water
METHOD:
- Hold back a small handful of whole chickpeas for decoration.
- As for the Tapenade recipe: Put everything into the jug and blitz until it is mashed down well and has a creamy consistency.
- Scrape down the sides of the jug a couple of times as you go.
- If it looks dry, add an extra 1 or 2 tablespoons of water and/or Olive oil. It should be smooth and creamy.
- Taste for salt and lemon; add as required.
- Spread onto a shallow dish, throw over the whole chickpeas, then drizzle generously with Olive oil.
- Serve with either small crostini, or fresh vegetable Crudités (I go for carrot batons and Celery sticks)
NOTES:
- You can add all sorts of flavours to Hummus – try a small handful of roasted peppers, or add a little Curry powder, some Sun-dried Tomato paste or even some soaked and blitzed dried apricots to ring the changes. It’s hard to go past the original recipe though!
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