Hummus
The hummus recipe is very easy but, if we don't pay attention to the small details, it might not go as it should, as it happened to me. I had to repeat the procedure 3-4 times until I succeeded in making some very tasty chickpea pate (or hummus). First of all, I've discovered that the biggest difference lays in the quality of the tahini. For better results, you need high quality tahini, but the one bought from the store has a strong bitter taste, sometimes rancid even.
I admit it's worth all the effort, it is a great alternative for the classic meat pates and changing the protein sources we consume is recommended by specialists. You can adjust the thickness of the pate with water or the liquid in which you cooked the chickpeas. The smoother the pate, the better.
The first and the most important step is to cook the chickpeas:
1. You can buy it already canned - I used 2 cans for this recipe. It was good, easy to puree and very creamy.
2. Or you can cook it at home. Soak the chikpeas 10-12 hours before, then throw away the water and rinse well. Boil without salt and without adding cold water (only hot water) until soft for 2-3 hours or 30-40 minutes in a pressure cooker.
If you cooked the chickpeas at home, save some of the liquid in which it boiled - it might be a bit dry and hard to puree, so some liquid will be useful to adjust the thickness.
If you are using canned chickpeas, add a bit of liquid from the can.
Best that you use the vertical blender to puree the chickpeas for a creamier and smoother paste.
So, add to the chickpeas: salt, tahini, garlic, lemon juice and 100 ml water or liquid in which it boiled.
Puree until you get a paste similar in consistency to thick cream, without any whole chickpeas in it.
If it's too thick, add some more water or liquid.
Here is a photo of the Tahini I used, which is actually a paste made of toasted sesamy seeds. You can find it in supermarkets in the Arab products section. I recommend using it with care, it's got very bitter and rancid taste and smell.
I recommend using homemade tahini instead. The recipe is simple and you can keep it in the fridge for a long time.
It has a nice smell of toasted sesame and it's not bitter at all.
Adjust to your taste by adding lemon juice, salt or tahini, mix well.
Tip the hummus into a beatiful plate, use a spoon to draw some stripe patterns, sprinkle olive oil on top and, up to you, spread over chopped parsley, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin and turmeric powder.
Serve with pita bread or any other bread and with great pleasure :)
Enjoy!
