Sunday 20 March 2016

Hummus - Middle-Eastern Chickpea Dip

I am a little ashamed to admit that I've never made traditional hummus, using dried chickpeas before. Having made this version for my blog, I've been converted! It really does taste better (and is far cheaper) than making it with tinned pulses. Yes, it takes longer to make,but you can make a large batch and freeze in small portions to make it even more economical.

Serves 8 as a starter or meze dish
  • 1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soaked over night with a good pinch of bicarbonate of soda
  • a large pinch of salt
  • juice of 1 lemon (plus the zest for a more lemony flavour)
  • 4 tbsp tahini
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6-8 tbsp cooking liquid, or more if needed
  • paprika and a glug of extra virgin olive oil to garnish
Drain the soaked chickpeas and put in large pan. Cover with boiled water and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda and bring to a simmer. Simmer, in a covered pan, for 1 hour on a low heat.
When tender, drain the pulses, reserving the cooking liquid.

Whilst still warm, place the chickpeas in a blender with all of the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid to make a smooth, spreadable paste. 
Taste and add more seasoning and/or garlic, if needed.
Spoon into a bowl and chill until needed.
Before serving, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

Serve with fresh bread, olives and salad.

Suitable for freezing; keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Top tips: Double this recipe to make enough to batch freeze. 
If you don't have the time to make hummus using dried pulses, try my quick and easy recipe instead. You might also like my mixed bean and basil hummus.

Flavour options: Omit the cumin and add some extra ingredients into the blender, along with the chickpeas to make these different variations...
 NCR
  • Red pepper and sweet chilli: Add ½ cup of chopped, roasted red peppers (from a jar) and 1-2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce.
  • Piri piri: Add 1-2 tbsp of your favourite piri piri sauce. 
  • Caramelised onion: Add 2 tbsp of caramelised onion chutney.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's No Croutons Required Challenge, co-hosted by Jacqui at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen

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4 comments:

  1. I must confess its been a long long time since I've made hummus with dried chickpeas. When I first discovered hummus, I'd make them with dried, then I started buying tins of chickpeas and have forgot. Its not a hardship as I often soak beans, so why not for hummus. I will have to try it once again, thanks for the reminder that its superior in contrast. Hope your well too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Shaheen. I haven't used bicarb for soaking before, but it did seem to soften the chickpeas.

      Delete
  2. Dried beans are always the best. It only takes a moment thought before bed to soak them. I adore hummus and thanks so much for sharing with NCR.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks very much for your comment. I love hearing your opinions, so please rest assured that genuine comments and competition entries will be visible after approval. This may take 24-48 hours, depending on how hectic my work/home life is at the time!

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