Hummus is a very quick dish that everyone should know how to make and this recipe will guarantee you’ll never buy a pot from the supermarket again. It’s best to use a food processor to make but a bowl and hand blender will work. Just a warning that it is very garlicky, so if you don’t want it too strong or have a hot date later in the day then reduce the number of garlic cloves to two.
Ingredients
2 cans of chickpeas (400g each)
1tbsp of cumin seeds
2 tsp salt
Juice of 1 lemon
4 garlic cloves
4tbsp good quality olive oil
1tbsp of tahini
Good quality olive oil and cayenne pepper for garnish
Method
Put a frying pan on high heat, add the cumin seeds and toast for a few minutes until they become fragrant. Reserve one teaspoon of the cumin seeds and put the rest into a grinder or pestle and mortar. Grind into a fine powder and set aside. Drain the cans of chickpeas but retain about 80ml of the chickpea water. Add the chickpeas into a food processor along with the garlic cloves, cumin powder, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, tahini and whiz up.
Take the retained chickpea water and add it to the food processor a little at a time while it spins until you reach the preferred consistency, it should be smooth and thick, you might not have to use all of the water. Taste you might need to add more lemon juice or salt depending on preference. Transfer into a serving bowl and drizzle over the olive oil followed by the whole toasted cumin seeds and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Serve with pita bread and crudités.