Hummus

I have written at length about Hummus before but lets face it, cooking is always a work in progress.

When it comes to Hummus there are tons of simple recipes on Cookidoo for basic hummus, but I want you to make real hummus with dried chickpeas or at a push buy a good quality jar.

It doesn't take long and you just have to remember to soak them the night before.

Here you go

Please get back to me with any comments on how I can be clearer

Hummus

start by soaking the chickpeas overnight OR alternatively buy a 500g jar of really good quality beans such as a Spanish brand or Bold Beans brand which are excellent.. Under no circumstances use a tin.. see below for why.

If you want really delicious creamy Hummus there is no substitute for soaking and cooking your own chick peas. It does make a difference, will save you a considerable amount of money, and the Hummus will be warm and have so much more flavour and nutrition.

A further reason for cooking your own is that you need them slightly overcooked to make great hummus, and in jars they are cooked so they hold together and look nice. I want you to cook them until they don’t look nice, so they are just beginning to seem slightly overcooked and the skins will just start to fall off. If you were an absolute purist you might (but only might) actually pick the skins off the chickpeas after cooking. But I don't think that the results are sufficiently different to justify the extraordinary time involved and since you have a Thermomix it will blend them so perfectly I defy you to spot the difference. You also of course loose a considerable amount of fibre. I suspect the practice of peeling them is only really relevant if you don't possess a great blender.

.

Regarding tins of chick peas.. please don't use them, yes they are cheap but that is for a reason. The quality is poor , the flavour is grim and they tend to be harder and less well cooked. You will never get delicious creamy flavourful hummus from a tin.

There is a reason that all those recipes on Cookidoo produce pretty average Hummus, they all suggest using jars.

250g dried chickpeas (or a 500g net weight jar such as Bold Beans brand)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (only needed if you are soaking dried beans)

4-5 cloves garlic

75g lemon juice

1 tsp malden salt (1/2 if you only have regular salt)

1 tsp ground cumin

150g proper middle eastern tahini paste bought from a middle eastern store not supermarket brands

90g cold water from the fridge or use the cooking water for extra nutrition

Really good extra virgin olive oil for drizzling as a garnish

Sumac for garnish or just some fresh parsley leaves or save a few whole chick peas

1. Dried chick pea method Soak the chick peas overnight in 900mls cold water with a 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda.

2. Next day, drain and rinse them well.

3. EITHER If you have a pressure cooker then use it. Place the chick peas in the PC with 1.6 litres of water, 1 tsp malden salt, and bring to high pressure for 18 minutes. Leave the chick peas to cool down in the water until warm, not stone cold. Then drain them saving some of the water.

4. OR cook in a saucepan with 1.6 litres of water, 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp malden salt for between 1 and 2 hours until really soft and easy to squeeze between thumb and finger. - The chickpeas need to be so soft that the skins are beginning to fall off. Now leave them to cool down in the cooking water. Just until they are warm, then drain but save a cupful of the water. It is difficult to say how long they will take to cook as it totally depends on how old they are and you cannot know that.

5. (Adding a little bicarb to the cooking water in the saucepan really speeds things up, but is not necessary in the pressure cooker in fact it will blow them into pieces so don’t do it.)

Or if you are using a jar of chickpeas drain them and start the recipe here.

1. Place the garlic, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon malden salt in the Thermomix. Process for 30 seconds at speed 10.

2. Now leave this for at least 20 minutes which will allow the garlic to mellow. This is absolutely vital so that you do not have any taste of raw garlic.

3. Then add 1 tsp of ground cumin, 150g tahini paste.

4. Drain and add your chickpeas to your tahini sauce, blend at speed 7.

5. You need to add the water but you are going to have to use your judgement on how much, so I suggest you add half and then drizzle in more with the measuring cup off only until the mixture is able to move freely. Stop as soon as it starts to move (you may need to use a spatula initially to help the water run down onto the blades).

6. You need to make your own decision on whether you have added enough liquid sometimes I add no more at all because allowing the chick peas to cool down in the water means they will have absorbed a lot. You are aiming for a consistency that will fall from a spoon.

7. Taste.

8. You want to have a consistency that allows you to create a good hollow in the middle of your serving dish.

9. Scatter with sumac and drizzle with a little very good olive oil. It is delicious served very freshly made, don’t refrigerate it , hummus should be room temperature.