John Holden's Recipe

Real Hummus.

Category: Recipes

This is a very basic recipe for hummus. I don't include any quantities because I like to control the end result to suit myself and the occasion.

Just be aware that minor variations can make major alterations, for example I prefer chick peas that have been cooked from scratch to canned peas, I think the flavour and texture much superior but do use cans if it's a matter of making hummus or not making hummus. Much the same applies to fork v food processor. The processor will knock a lot of time off the process but at the cost of a lot of flavour and texture.



I'm going to go through the process I prefer to use, leaving you to make life easier where you choose but I would recommend using my method at least once.

Right, to start you will need

Ingredients

Chick Peas, Ideally dried fresh but at a pinch use tinned
Tahini (light is preferable)
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Paprika
Fresh Coriander Leaves, For Decoration
Salt
Few utensils are needed and will all be to hand in a reasonably well equipped kitchen



A pan large enough to cook the peas with plenty of spare room, a pressure cooker is good

A slotted spoon

A large mixing bowl

A sturdy fork that will not bend easily



And that’s about it!

Cook the chick peas until they are tender but still with a bit of crunch to them. Pick over for any discoloured or any other reason you don’t want to eat. Don’t bother to drain, you’ll use some of that liquid.

Crush the garlic and add to mixing bowl.

Add a couple of spoonfuls of chick peas and with the fork crush to a rough paste, continue adding peas and crushing adding a splash of the cooking liquid if the paste gets too dry. When all the peas are crushed to your satisfaction add the tahini tasting until you are happy with the balance.

Do the same with the olive oil, lemon and paprika.

Mix until you are happy the ingredients are mixed to your taste, you can still add more of everything if needed, but you can’t really take anything away.

At this stage you can just put the lot in a plastic container in the fridge for use, but if you have grander designs on it, add to a decorative serving bowl. Level the top off with a fork making decorative patterns.

Decorate the swirls with paprika and over all that drizzle some olive oil and finish off with sprays of fresh coriander. Stand back and admire, you made that and doesn't it look good! It tastes grand.