HOORAY FOR HOMEMADE HUMMUS

I love hummus! Dipping in a warm pitta bread, spreading on a butty or scooping it up with tortilla chips, it makes for a more healthier snack compared to shoving a whole bar of chocolate down your throat. When I made my own at home I was blown away by the sheer volume that I produced, how simple it was to make, how much more delicious it tastes than shop bought and finally how much cheaper it is to make your own than buy those little tubs in supermarkets. When you factor all that in, whats not to love about homemade hummus.

For the best hummus experience you really need to used dried chickpeas soaked overnight as I find they just have that edge in taste and texture over tinned chickpeas and my recipe follows this lead. This does mean you need to prep your hummus at least 12 hours in advance. If you get the sudden urge for a hummus feast you can indeed use tinned chickpeas. Based on the measurements below you will need to use 1kg of tinned chickpeas instead.

In fact whilst we are talking about measurements, as mentioned above this recipe does make a hell of a lot of hummus. If you shovel the stuff into your face on a weekly basis or are having a soiree then use the amounts below. If you just want to make some for a little niblet for two you might want to think about halving the quantities. It doesn't keep for too long so you might find you end up throwing loads away if you don't reduce the amounts in the recipe and no one likes waste do they?

It also became clear when I said I was going to make hummus that there are lot of difference in people's expectations on the perfect hummus. Some like it thick, some runny, some smooth, some chunky, some really garlicky, some really lemony. With this in mind I say to you all, use the recipe below as a guide. If you like you hummus thick then don't add as much liquid, if you like it smooth then blend it a lot more than if you like it chunky. You can make it entirely as you see fit. 

 

Flavor wise I would make sure that you have a bit more of each of the ingredients below. When you have blended the hummus together a bit, give it a taste and then add a bit more garlic if you think it needs it or add some more lemon juice if you think it needs more zing. Again, it's all down to your personal taste so make sure you taste at regular intervals and add extra ingredients as you see fit.

So here we go - remember to start this at least 12 hours before you expect to want your hummus and if your using tinned chickpeas then start from step 3.

Homemade Hummus

500g Dried Chickpeas
2 Tsp Bicarb
1 Medium Sized Whole Garlic Bulb
300g Tahini
75ml Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper To Season

1. Start by soaking the dried chickpeas in cold water. Cover them in film and leave for at least 12 hours.
2. After that nice long soak, drain the chickpeas and then add them to a pan filled with 2 pints of cold water with the 2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda. Bring the pan to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for around 1 hour. Come back to the pan every 15 minutes and spoon off the scum that will of formed. It's not nice and you defiantly want to get rid.
3. Whilst your chickpeas are on the simmer turn your oven on to 200 degrees (180 fan). Take your garlic bulb and slice across the top to expose the tops of each of the cloves (See the picture to the right). Wrap the bulb in foil and bake it in the oven or 45 minutes. Remove the bulb from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle.
4. Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain them from the water but retain some of the boiling water as you may need it later. Run the chickpeas under cold water to remove any remaining scum and then leave to cool slightly.
5. Add the chickpeas into a large bowl if using a stick blender or throw them into the bowl of a food processor. Squeeze in half of the soft roasted garlic cloves, the tahini, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper to season. Begin to blend to the texture of your choice. 

Remember to keep tasting and adding either more garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper to your taste. If you find that the hummus is too thick then use the lemon juice to thin it out. If it's still thick but you don't want to add any more lemon juice then use tbsp's of the water used to boil the chickpeas in instead.

Once you have got your hummus just how you like it, slice up some warm pitta, cut up some carrots sticks or crack open a bag of tortilla crisps and get dipping. You'll be shouting "Hooray For Homemade Hummus" right after your first bite!