What you do
To cook the chickpeas – drain them and rinse. Place in a large saucepan and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes and skim away any scum on the surface. Add the bicarbonate of soda, but beware as it will bubble up furiously. Cook for about 40 minutes until really soft, keep skimming throughout the cooking time.
To make the hummus. Tip the chickpeas + 250ml of cooking liquid into a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and start to process. After about 4 minutes when it is looking nice and smooth, pour in about 150ml chilled water, this will lighten the texture and make it really creamy. Scrape into a bowl and cover with clingfilm and leave to stand and thicken in the fridge.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container, it will keep for up to 2 days.
When you want to serve, taste first then adjust with salt and lemon juice. Top with the pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and parsley. Olive oil, Za’atar or sumac also make delicious finishes.
In Lebanese food culture, hummus is served with fresh pitta, or crackers, onion wedges, hard-boiled eggs and vegetable sticks. Our pickled vegetables would be lovely.
250g dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
250g tahini paste
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
Zest of 1 lemon
6-8 tablespoons lemon juice
2 roasted peppers, seeds removed and chopped
To finish
1 tablespoon of toasted pine nuts
1 teaspoon pomegranate
A few flatleaf parsley leaves
1 teaspoon za’atar (optional)