Baked Hummus - Yummus

My friend Carol lives literally only 2 mins walkway from me but it can be a big task to get us both together for a catch up as we both are very busy people - but when we do, I try to make something nice for us - nothing big just something to nibble on.

Trying to remove the skin

If you want to do it the 'real' way

So this time, I saw my jar of chickpeas and thought hummus would be lovely. I saw some Lebanese flatbread in Aldi the other day and thought yeah, that sounds good. So I soaked the chickpeas in water for a few hours (I soaked them in the morning but best is to do that overnight). About 2 hours before Carol came over, I cooked them for an hour after having discarded the soaking water and rinsed the chickpeas in cold clear water. When cooked, drained of the water and let them cool down.

I read about a dish once that baked the hummus so I thought I give it a go. Ok, now when you read recipes for baked hummus - or even sometimes for cold hummus - the recipe will ask you to skin the chickpeas. Let me tell you that this is a work for someone REALLY dedicated. It can take ages even when you rub the warm chickpeas in a tea towel. I gave up halfway through (an Egyptian told me once that you should do it to get a smoother texture) as life is simply too short.

I mean 'Real" - not me

I was also told - by the same man (he must have lots of time on his hands) - to use a pestle and mortar to make hummus...... naaaaaa, I tried it but took my old faithful blitzer to finish the task. Mix oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic (for me good hummus must have garlic - it is also nice with roasted garlic), salt, cumin, paprika and tahini. I am not giving quantities here as I believe that it is all down to taste. Add as much as you want of each but keep tasting in between before adding more.

Well worth the 'almost' effort

Adding some Greek yogurt makes it a bit lighter but you can leave it out. Spoon the hummus into ovenproof dishes. Sprinkle with roasted pinenuts and drizzle some paprika oil over it and bake for about 20 mins.

In the meantime toast the Lebanese bread and serve both warm - a nice rich Lebanese wine would be great with it but good old-fashioned beer is also a perfect match.

Enjoy !