Hummus

Ingredients

2-6 garlic cloves crushed

a few sprigs of fresh parsely leaves

1 large can chick peas drained

up to 1/4 C water

1 tsp or T olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1-4 T tahini paste(sesame paste)

salt

(little pinch) cayenne pepper

little cumin (optional)

toasted pinenuts

paprika for sprinkling

Procedure

Drop garlic cloves in food processor while running. Stop and add parsley leaves. Add chickpeas, olive oil, lemon, cayanne, cumin, salt and tahini paste. Add some of the water. Blend until smooth adding water as needed.

Toast pinenuts lightly and set aside to cool. Top creamy hummus with tasted pinenuts, a drizzle of olive oil, a drizzle of lemon juice, and a couple shakes of paprika and maybe some sea salt.

Special Notes

Make this as lemony or garlicy, thick or thin as you want. Omit cumin or cayenne pepper to make less spicy.

Alternative from dry beans - -

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ cups dried chickpeas (250 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light tahini paste (270 grams)
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt
6 ½ tablespoons ice-cold water (100 milliliters)

PREPARATION

Put chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water at least twice their volume. Leave to soak overnight.
The next day, drain chickpeas. In a medium saucepan, combine drained chickpeas and baking soda over high heat. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 6 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cook at a simmer, skimming off any foam and any skins that float to the surface, from 20 and 40 minutes, depending on the type and freshness. Once done, they should be very tender, breaking easily when pressed between your thumb and finger, almost but not quite mushy.
Drain chickpeas. You should have roughly 3 cups (600 grams) now. Place chickpeas in a food processor and process until you get a stiff paste. Then, with the machine still running, add tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Slowly drizzle in ice water and allow it to mix for about 5 minutes, until you get a very smooth and creamy paste.
Transfer hummus to a bowl, cover surface with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If not using immediately, refrigerate until needed, up to two days. Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.

Adapted from “Jerusalem: A Cookbook” by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (Ten Speed Press, 2012)