Hummus

A friend of mine is allergic to sesame seeds so doesn't eat hummus.  I came across these recipes recently and thought of her.  None of them have sesame in them!

Hummus

Ingredients

For the hummus...

300g freshly cooked chickpeas
3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 T (tablespoons) olive oil
1 small clove garlic
2 lemons (shave off five thin strips of peel, then juice, to get 3 T
Flaked sea salt

For the fried aromatics...

4 T olive oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
1 large clove of garlic, peeled an thinly sliced
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
1 cinnamon stick, lightly crushed
5g coriander stalks (cut into 4cm lengths, plus 2 T picked leaves

To make 300 g cooked chickpeas

1. Soak 125g dried chickpeas in plenty of cold water and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda overnight.

2. Next day, drain, put in a pot with 900 ml water and a quarter teaspoon of bicarb, bring to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes (or longer, depending on the freshness and variety of the chickpeas), until very soft but still retaining their shape, then drain.

(I can't help but think that it might be easier just to buy a can of chickpeas!)

To make the hummus

1. Put the first 4 ingredients for the hummus in a small bowl of a food processor with the lemon peel, two T of lemon juice, 1/2 t (teaspoon) of flaked salt and a T of water.  Blitz for about 2 minutes, until you have a smooth paste. 

2. For the fried aromatics, heat the oil in a medium pan on a medium heat, then gently fry the chilli, garlic, ginger and cinnamon for 5 minutes, stirring every once in a while, until the garlic is just starting to brown.

3. Add the coriander stalks and fry for a minute or two more, until the garlic is golden brown and the chilli aromatic.

4. Transfer the solids to a plate with a slotted spoon and reserve the oil.

5. Sprinkle generously with flaked salt.

6. Spoon the hummus onto a large plate, creating a large well in the centre with the back of a spoon.

7. Spoon the oil into the well and drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice.

8. Top with the fried aromatics and fresh coriander, and serve.

And for a slightly simpler hummus...

Ingredients

200g freshly cooked chickpeas

1/2 garlic clove peeled and crushed

1 lemon - the zest finely grated, to get 2 t. and juiced to get 1 T.

1T olive oil

5-6 T Greek-style yoghurt (not low fat is possible)

Flaked sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients in a food processor and blitz smooth