HUMMUS

This is the first time that made hummus from scratch and followed the recipe from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem cookbook. I must say that I had never tried such a silky hummus before. It was just delicious and will make it again for sure. I used it to make Hummus Kawarma, and everyone loved the recipe. I also made Three Garlic Butter flatbreads from Flavour, and the combination was sublime.

Ingredients

250g dried chickpeas

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

270g light tahini paste

4 tbsp lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, crushed

100ml ice cold water

salt

Method

Start a day before by washing the chickpeas well and placing them in a large bowl. Cover them with cold water, at least twice their volume, and leave to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the chickpeas. Place a medium saucepan on a high heat and add the drained chickpeas and the bicarbonate of soda. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1.5 litres of fresh water and bring to a boil. Cook, skimming off any foam and any skins that float to the surface. The chickpeas can cook for anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on the type and freshness, sometimes even longer. Once done, they should be very tender, breaking up easily when pressed between your thumb and finger, almost but not quite mushy.

Drain the chickpeas. You should have roughly 600g now. Place the chickpeas in a food processor bowl.

Process until you get a stiff paste; then, with the machine still running, add the tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic and 1½ teaspoons of salt. Finally, slowly drizzle in the iced water and allow it to mix until you get a very smooth and creamy paste, about 5 minutes. Transfer the hummus into a bowl, cover the surface with cling film and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If not using straight away, refrigerate until needed. Make sure to take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 6

Notes from the Authors

'Our basic hummus recipe is super-smooth and rich in tahini, just as we like it, and can be kept in the fridge for up to three days and used simply spread over a plate, drizzled with olive oil and eaten with a pita or bread. However, the two recipes that follow it (Musabaha (warm chickpeas with hummus) & toasted pita & Hummus kawarma (lamb) with lemon sauce) turn hummus into an altogether different thing, an exciting centrepiece of a seriously substantial meal, as it is mostly enjoyed in Jerusalem. If you prefer to stick to the basic recipe, you can vary it by folding in cooked and crushed chickpeas thus adding texture, adding some ground cumin and adjusting the amount of lemon juice and tahini to suit you.'

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