Hummus

[redsturgeon]

Delicious stuff, with freshly toasted pitta or crudites or used anywhere as a healthy alternative to mayonnaise. We usually just buy pots of the stuff ready made unless we are having folks round for a meal when Mrs RS will make it.

Yesterday however for the first time I helped my vegan daughter make a batch and I was amazed how easy it was and how delicious the result was.

A tin of chick peas, some garlic, tahini, olive olive, cumin, lemon juice, salt and pepper, into the food processor and whizzed until creamy and its done.

A very useful tip was to save some of the chick pea water to add back into the mix to achieve the desired texture.

A delicious and healthy dip made quickly and easily.

Does anyone else make their own and any tips to make it especially nice.

I had seen one chef on TV last week who individually peeled each chick pea...life is too short I think to follow that one.

John

[UncleEbenezer]

I take it it would be superfluous to say, try playing with variants on the flavoursome ingredients? You can (in moderation) add things from the heat of chilli or horseradish to the coolness of mint. As the seasons pass, try with whatever herbs are in season!

Use real olive oil - which can be one of the cheapest extra-virgins - and it comes out tasting hugely richer than supermarket equivalents. That seems to be the main virtue of homemade in my experience.

Oh, and I make it with the dried chickpeas: soak overnight, then boil up before use. A batch of those can go several ways, so for instance if I soak a big batch I might use some for hummus and others for a cauldron of soup with leeks and tomatoes. Indeed, I think that would be a very good idea for this week, as I have rather a lot of fresh garlic to use up!

[redsturgeon]

Hi UncleE,

I think I am a little perverse in that I just like my hummus plain, whenever Mrs RS brings home a beetroot or avocado or whatever technicolour variety from M&S then something inside me just scream "why can't you leave it alone!" I think I just like the simple taste of the hummus added to whatever you have decided to dip into it.

As for the olive oil, absolutely could not agree more, as with many things RIRO seems to hold sway. And an extra splash on top when serving together with a generous sprinkle of cayenne works for me.

Usually we would soak the chick peas overnight, a big batch that would be used to make falafel and our favourite chick pea and spinach curry but yesterday, typically teenager-like DD woke up craving hummus and the tin was a handy stand by.

I have been following the 5:2 diet for some years now and I am actually starting to make the 2 fast days meat free too, it seems easier to stick to the 600 calories that way, so chick peas and other pulses have become a larger part of my diet recently.

Thanks UncleE

John

[Skotch]

I think two of the tastiest hummus variations I've had has been made with broad beans and fresh chick peas I've grown on the allotment. Both are a vibrant green and when laced with loads of parsley/mint/dill are a welcome addition to the hummus family

[UncleEbenezer]

I think I am a little perverse in that I just like my hummus plain, whenever Mrs RS brings home a beetroot or avocado or whatever technicolour variety from M&S then something inside me just scream "why can't you leave it alone!" I think I just like the simple taste of the hummus added to whatever you have decided to dip into it.

Perverse? Sounds like a perfectly fair matter of individual taste. But you already told us it's not really plain: you referred to garlic and other flavoursome ingredients.

I will sometimes use hummus as a dip, but more often it just goes onto the plate as part of a regular dish, typically with salad and pasta or potatoes. Or more occasionally couscous - as in the lunch on my plate right now.

I think two of the tastiest hummus variations I've had has been made with broad beans and fresh chick peas I've grown on the allotment. Both are a vibrant green and when laced with loads of parsley/mint/dill are a welcome addition to the hummus family

mmm, yes, that sounds well worth a try. Now all I need is a bloomin' allotment!

[johnstevens77]

As most of you will know by now, I was an executive chef in several international hotels in Cyprus and the Gulf. Hommous was on the menu everwhere I worked, my last job was for 13 years in the house (palace) of a Saudi billionnaire and his extended family and they were VERY fussy! I had several Lebanese cooks but they all made hommous bil tahina*** the same way.

Soak dried chickpeas overnight, drain and simmer until tender using a little bicarbonate of soda. Drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid. cover the chickpeas with cold water and rub them gently between your hands to loosen most of the skins, flush the skins away under running water. Put them in the processor with fresh lemon juice and process smooth, add tahina to taste but about a third of the quantity of peas, season with salt and taste, adding more lemon/tahina/salt as you go, if too thick, thin with some of the cooking water. On the other hand, if it is too thin but needs more lemon, you can add a little lemon salt (ascetic acid). Garlic was never added anywhere I worked but I understand that at home most of them would add a little.
It was always served the same way; put some in the centre of a plate/platter and with a circling action using the back of a spoon, push it out to the sides, leaving a small mound in the middle. Pour some good olive oil into the hole that you just made and garnish as you like but paprika seemed to be essential. Suggested garnishing items would be; sliced olives, half moons of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and lemons, parsley sprigs, reserved whole chick peas, walnut halves. About the only variation I saw was hommous "awarma", which is the basic hommous topped with hot dry pan fried minced mutton or lamb, usualy seasoned with just a little ground allspice and chopped parsley and served with the meat still warm.

***Hommous bil tahina. In Arabic hommous are just chickpeas, so it is often on the menu as hommous bil tahina, ie chickpeas with tahina.

At home here in Devon, I make lots of M.E. food and hommous is one of our favourites. I follow the basic preparation as decribed but cook organic chickpeas in the preassure cooker for 18 minutes, again using a touch of bicarb (not forgetting to skim before putting on the lid!) I always add a very little crushed garlic to the machine. We like our hommous quite wet and it is especially good accompanied with a lemony tabouleh. Scoop it up with warm pitta bread, carrot or cucumber battons or spring onions all three or whatever takes your fancy.

Bring on the HMT, as the trio were known in the hotels in Bahrain, much easier than calling out, "new order, one hommous moutable and tabouleh".

john

[redsturgeon]

Hi John

Thanks for the heads up on the authentic hummus (hommous)

I have seen recipes using bicarb, do you know what it adds, can you tell the difference between using it or not?

Also the technique for removing skins seems much easier than trying to peel each peas by hand! Does it make much difference to the texture?

Finally you mention cooking in a pressure cooker for 18 minutes, I assume that is for the chickpeas that have been soaked overnight?

Cheers

John

[johnstevens77]

Hi John

A pinch of bicarb helps to soften the chickpeas and they cook a lot faster. No difference in taste if you only use a very small amount, I use a good point of a cooks knife for about 250grs.
Yes soaked overnight, but the timing depends upon the quality of the chickpeas of course. As I said, I am using organic.
Removing most of the skins makes the end result smoother. You could of course go the route of the traditional Lebanese housewife and rub the lot through a sieve! But as you say, life is too short for that nonesense.

My preassure cooker is an old Prestige using the high preassure weight.

john

[Generali]

Fascinating stuff, thanks John.

All I can add is that apparently a few years back the amount of land used to grow tobacco was for the first time exceeded by the amount of land used to grow chick peas in America.

[Changeable]

I have always bought 500g packets of large chick peas, origin Spanish.
These I soaked over night and then boiled for an hour until relatively soft, certainly not mushy!
However, on my travels I met somebody who had a falafel restaurant and he told me that one of the "secrets" of making great hummus is to use very small chick peas...
Passing my local cash and carry, I came across 10Kg sack of very small chick peas. I bought them only to discover that surprisingly they take much longer to cook and to my palate, I could taste no difference...
My wife makes the humus and I certainly agree about good quality olive oil making a big difference, in fact we don't use anything else.
Once or twice she removed the skins, but that is hard work! Now the hummus is made with the skins...
Like you say, with some fresh bread or pita bread, a little salt and harissa, it is a delicious snack.

One last point...After soaking be sure to rinse the chick peas thoroughly before they are cooked.

[DeepE]

I make it from scratch.
Dried chick peas soaked and cooked until tender.
Don't use tahini, just dry roast sesame seeds and then grind them.
Add salt, lemon, olive oil.
Blitz in a blender adding just enough water to get the required consistency.