Hummus

Ingredients

Quantities for 6 servings.

• 250 g Dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 150 g Tahini
• 1 piece Lemon, juiced
• 2 clove Garlic
• 80 ml Iced water
• 1 tsp Ground cumin
• to taste Olive oil
• to taste Salt

Method

1. Drain the soaked chickpeas, cover with fresh water and the bicarbonate and boil for an hour or ninety minutes, until they collapse. Skim off the foam and the floating skins.
2. Drain, keeping a cup of the cooking water. Rub the chickpeas between your palms under cold water and the remaining skins float free.
3. Blend the tahini with the garlic, lemon juice and salt — it pales and thickens. Add the iced water and blend again: it turns light and aerated.
4. Add the warm chickpeas with the cumin and blend for at least three minutes, loosening with the cooking water. Three minutes is not an exaggeration; that is where the texture comes from.
5. Spread it on a plate, sweep a channel round it with the back of a spoon, flood it with olive oil and dust with cumin.