Hummus
Hummus is a
dip made of
chickpea paste with various additions, such as
olive oil, fresh
garlic,
lemon juice,
paprika, and
tahini (
sesame seed paste). It is popular throughout
Middle East, including in Syria, Lebanon,
Israel and the Palestinian territories,
Turkey,
Greece, Cyprus, though the
hummus eaten in
Greece,
Turkey, and Cyprus is quite different from the
hummus eaten in the Arab world and in
Israel. It is traditionally scooped up with flatbread (
pieces of pita) to be eaten, but it is increasingly popular as a
dip for
tortilla chips in non-Middle Eastern countries. It is a popular breakfast food, especially when combined with another
dip named "Ful" (
pronounced "Fool"), which is based on crushed
fava beans. It is also used as an appetizer dish to accompany main courses. In Arabic, "Hummus" means simply
chickpea. The dish described in this article is called "Hummus wa Tahina", i.e.
chickpea and sesame.
Method
- Cover the chickpeas with cold water and soak them over night then boil them for 45 minutes in fresh water.
- You can also use canned chickpeas instead of fresh if time is not on your side.
- Make sure you rinse the canned ones thoroughly.
- Drain the cooked chickpeas then place them in a food processor.
- Finely chop the garlic and add to the chickpea mix, along with the tahini paste, the lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of oil. Process till smooth.
- Then while the motor is running, drizzle just enough extra olive oil in the chute to achieve the consistency you prefer. (This will vary according to your preferences and tastes).
- Transfer the paste to a bowl and pour on top a little oil, sprinkle with paprika and chopped parsley.
Image Courtesy of StockFood
