Hummus

Quick to make, easy to eat and very healthy, hummus is a perfect dip, sandwich filling and side. It even works as the centre of a salad, surrounded by leaves and crisp veg, sprinkled with sesame or melon seeds.

If using as a dip, serve with crudities (carrot batons, sticks of celery, slices of pepper), tortilla chips, crisp bread or pitta bread.

Hummus is great in a pitta pocket with crunchy carrots and lettuce, add falafel and yoghurt dressing to make it meal-sized. It also makes a surprisingly good sandwich layered with grated carrots, alfalfa sprouts or cold roasted veg.

Serves: 2-4 depending on how it’s server. Prep: 5 minutes. Cooking time: 0 minutes.
Stores: 2-3 days in the fridge.

Tools

• Tin opener
• Bowl
• Stick blender or potato masher
• Table spoon

Ingredients

• 1 tin chickpeas
• 2 table spoons tahini (optional)
• The juice of 1 lemon
• Ground cumin to taste
• Olive oil to taste

Method

1. Open and drain the chickpeas.
2. Put the chickpeas into a bowl or the stick blender’s bowl.
3. Add the other ingredients.
4. Mash or blend until it’s as smooth as you want it.
5. If it’s too thick, add a few tablespoons of water.

Variations

• Rusty: Add a good amount of smoked paprika for a rich, smokey flavour.
• Pink: Add a cooked beetroot into the mix and blend until bright pink.
• Green: Add a generous handful of coriander and extra lemon for a sparky middle-eastern version.
• Moroccan: Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle crunchy chickpeas on top before serving with flat bread as a mezze. Mmm!
• Ultra-beige: Roast a bulb of garlic in the oven for half an hour (cut off the top first, it makes the cloves easier to pick out), then peel the cloves and put them in the hummus and whiz.