Home-made Hoummus.

[Crackle]

Here's what I used:

Tin of chick peas
2 tablespoons of tahini
Juice of one squeezed lemon
4 garlic cloves
pinch of salt
"some" water

All thrown in a blender and whizzed. It was a bit of a strain to whizz it for starters and needed "some more" water and de-clogging the blades. Very very simple. And I doubt if I'll be buying shop stuff again.

Hmmm. The only difference then is the tinned chickpeas, I normally soak and boil but I might try the tinned ones and yes the blending bit is essential: 4 Garlic cloves in that amount You'll knock the horse down from 30 paces tomorrow.

 

[longers]

Excuse my ignorance, but what's the difference between a blender and a food processor?

 

[Lardyboy]

Here's my take on it.

Large tin of chickpeas, drained.
2-3 large tbls of tahini.
1-2 smoked garlic cloves.
Juice of 1-1.5 lemons.
Best olive oil you can afford.
Little drop or two of water.
Salt and pepper to your taste.

Put all the "dry" ingredients in a food processor, add the lemon juice and pulse it for a few seconds. Add water if you think it looks too dry at this stage then pulse for a few seconds again. then turn the processor on and add the oil in a steady drizzle until it looks like "humous". Don't over do it you still want there to be "bits" of chick pea visable, you don't want a paste! Put the humous in a sealable tub and it'll keep for a week in the fridge, or two days if you are peckish!

Have also tried red pepper humous, which is very tasty. Just add a skinless roasted red pepper to the above.

 

[Pete]

Excuse my ignorance, but what's the difference between a blender and a food processor?

Get thee to a Curry's*, now! Take a look.

*or Comet's

 

[Noodley]

Mmmm. I've just had some more with Feta & Sundried Tomato Pittas and Tsatsiki.

 

[Lardyboy]

I also spotted pomegranate syrup today and shall be makinjg use of this soon.

try it on top of vanilla ice cream. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

 

[longers]

Get thee to a Curry's*, now! Take a look.

*or Comet's

*huffs*

I can't believe you're making me work for this info. Still, knowledge earned is knowledge gained eh?

*googles*

One's a jug and one's a bowl type affair.

 

[Dave5N]

Mmmm. I've just had some more with Feta & Sundried Tomato Pittas and Tsatsiki.

<FNAAR>I'm sorry to hear that. Mediterranean food can do that to you.</FNAAR>

 

[Nortones2]

Tinned chick peas have a strange, Heinzie taste, I find, but even with molto effort, and all the fresh ingredients, the houmous we make can be a bit inferior somehow to commercial products. Batch chemistry has its drawbacks

 

[toontra]

For the finishing touch, hummous is best served with a dusting of paprika and a drizzle of oil (pretentious, moi?).

I could do with a convincing recipe for falafel though. Mine are always a bit ... lacking.

 

[Pete]

*huffs*

I can't believe you're making me work for this info. Still, knowledge earned is knowledge gained eh?

*googles*

One's a jug and one's a bowl type affair.

*shrugs*
The big difference is in the rotating blade. The blender's blade is smaller, X-shaped with upwards-turned points, and works best with liquids - good for soups, smoothies, that sort of thing. The food processor usually has two curved horizontal blades which scythe through more solid stuff and mince it all up - better for patés and the like. Very sharp-edged, so watch those fingers when assembling, dismantling or cleaning the gadget!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

You really can't used tinned chick peas to make the best hummous as you need some of the liquid from cooking the chick peas to 'dilute' the mixture (along with some extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice). Tahini is also essential, as is a good amount of garlic and seasoning. For a spicier variation you can also add some ground cumin and coriander seeds...

 

[Danny]

I am a great fan of garlic but four cloves is definitely too much unless you are making your hummus in industrial quantities.

I once had a party where I made a big batch of hummus in a blender, and just chucked in some garlic cloves along with everything else. Problem was that the garlic didn't get chopped up properly, and several of my guests found themselves eating virtually whole cloves of garlic. This was not one of my greatest culinary successes

 

[Noodley]

You really can't used tinned chick peas to make the best hummous...

Just as well I only set out to make hummous and not "the best hummous" then B)

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Just as well I only set out to make hummous and not "the best hummous" then B)

Well, I try not to aim low when cooking!

Of course if you replace the chick peas with other ingredients you get a whole load of other fantastic middle eastern dips and sauces. Roasted aubergines, for example... or other kinds of roasted vegetables or pulses.

I always find a spoonful of harissa (a North African chili sauce made with garlic, olive oil, vinegar and ground caraway, cumin and coriander seeds and sometimes some other peppers or even tomato - there are hundreds of variations) goes down a treat in any of these too. I always have a tub of homemade harissa in the fridge, and like Korean kimchee, it just gets better as it gets older - but it usually doesn't get a chance to last that long!