Hummus is a dip made of chickpea paste and tahini (sesame seed paste), with flavorings such as olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and paprika. It’s often available as an alternative to dairy or meat fillings in a sandwich.

Personally, I love the stuff and make some most weeks. It’s the kind of thing that’s ideal for a snack with a glass of wine, some friends around the table, or something different to your regular cheese / ham sandwich.
If you want to make hummus without any fuss, you’ll need:

• a can of chick peas
• olive oil

• a jar of tahini (sesame seed paste)

• a fresh lemon or two
• a chili
• a couple of cloves of garlic
• pepper and salt
• vegetable stock (optional)
• sweet chili sauce (optional)

1. Open a can of chick peas and rinse in cold water.
2. Blend the chick peas with a hand-blender / hand mixer and about half the juice of a ripe lemon and four or five table spoons of olive oil and one to two large tablespoons of tahini .
3. Continue to blitz the mixture with a couple of cloves of garlic.
4. If the mixture is still really try, add a bit more lemon juice or sweet chili sauce/vegetable stock. Ideally the mixture should be easy enough to mix with a spoon but not runny.
5. Chill in the fridge for half an hour.

Serve with carrot / cucumber sticks. Or on bread. Or even roasted vegetables.

Photo: Courtesy Kochtopf

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