CREAMY, SMOOTH, LEMON AND GARLIC HUMMUS

You don't need a silver fork to eat good food - Paul Prudhomme

 

 

I was chatting with Navy recently who mentioned the blog was looking a lot cleaner and tighter. Ordinarily I'd brush the compliment aside but I know Navy isn't one for insincere flattery. I'd spent hours the week before working my way through each post (there are more than 150!) trying to get through as many glitches as I could.

 

Once I was done I wondered why I hadn't done it before. I was just about to start beating myself up but it's always been important to me to have a visually appealing website. I've been specially conscious of this since I don't have the technological skill to come up with the swirling, swishing imagery I'd like. I guess I just need to accept that this blog has always been the best it could at that stage.

 

Some things just take time.

 

If you're currently feeling you should have been further ahead by now, that you should have accomplished more or gotten more things done, I'd like to share the example of my super, creamy hummus.

 

When I started cooking I thought I'd take a stab at making hummus since I like it so very much. The first time I tried I didn't soak the chickpeas overnight and though I boiled them for what felt like hours they were too hard to be made into a paste. The second time I decided to skip the tahini, thinking it was just a couple of tablespoons, how much of a difference could it make? It tasted like feet. The third time I almost got everything right but no matter how much I blended there was a graininess that just wouldn't go. So much for the third time being the charm.

 

This time I saw soaked chickpeas lying on the kitchen counter and without any hope or expectation I decided to pop it into a pressure cooker for about 10 - 15 minutes.  I peeled the skins off while starting to watch Season 2 of Hart of Dixie because I'd read on the Smitten Kitchen that this would help get it really smooth when I started to pulp it. What was there to lose? 

 

This is the creamiest, closest to perfect hummus I've ever made. I spent a whole weekend scooping spoonfuls into my mouth straight out of the fridge. The slight tang of lemon and the kick of garlic keep it from being dreary chickpea mush.

 

Moral of the story - it took me about 2 kgs of chickpeas, half a bottle of tahini, 6 - 7 lemons, 4 cups of olive oil and 9 months to figure out something I'd allotted myself 45 minutes for.

 

Some things just take time.  

 

 

 Serves 4

Adapted from Sweet Paul

 

What you’ll need:

 

2 cups of chickpeas (soaked overnight)

3 – 5 garlic cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

 

How to:

 

1. Boil the chickpeas (I think the easiest thing is to stick them in the pressure cooker for about 20 minutes).

 

2. Once you’ve taken the boiled chickpeas out let them cool and then carefully pinch each pea till the skin slides off.

 

Note: This may seem odd and I know most recipes don’t need you to waste your time doing all this but the first time I read about this was at Smitten Kitchen’s blog and it is THE secret to super smooth and creamy hummus. And it’s totally mindless so you can catch up on a TV show or catch up with family while you peel your pile of peas.

 

3. Puree all ingredients together till you have a smooth paste. If you end up with a too solid mess then just add a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt to water it down.  

4. Taste and adjust seasoning. Chill and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.