The classic creamy chickpea dip.
Serves 4
Preparation time: Start overnight, 45-60 minutes cooking time + 20 minutes prep time
A classic! Creamy chickpea dip with tahini, garlic and fresh lemon juice. Delicious, easy to make, and very adaptable to your personal taste. Can be easily used as a base to add your own flavours!
Ingredients
200g dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
90ml lemon juice (approximately two lemons)
100ml tahini
1 clove garlic crushed
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1-2 ice cubes
Method
Soak the chickpeas overnight or for eight hours with a half teaspoon of baking soda. The baking soda helps to loosen the chickpea skins.
Drain the chickpeas and give them a hard rub with your fingers. Remove any of the skins that come off. Place the chickpeas in a saucepan and cover generously with water. Bring to the boil and remove any white foam that appears. Repeat this again until there is little foam left. Add a half teaspoon of baking soda, cover and lower the heat. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until the chickpeas are very soft. The best way to test if the chickpeas are done is is to press a chickpea between two fingers - it should crush easily).
Drain the chickpeas and give them a rub again to try and get more of the skins off. Throw out any skins that come off. You can also place the chickpeas in a bowl and cover generously with water. Give them a rub and any skins that come off will float to the top where you can easily skim them off and discard.
Place the cooked chickpeas in the food processor or blender with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Blend or mash the chickpeas until you have a smooth paste. You may need to stop halfway and give the chickpeas a stir to make sure they are all equally blended. If they still seem coarse, add another tablespoon of the lemon juice and blend or process again.
Add the remaining ingredients to the smooth chickpea paste and process again. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. For an extra silky and creamy hummus you can now add an ice cube to the mix and process until the ice cube is blended in..
Transfer the hummus to your serving dish. With the back of a spoon create a well in the middle of your dip leaving the centre raised. Pour olive oil into this well, sprinkle the hummus with cumin and paprika or the spices of your choice and enjoy!