Home-made... with a hint of chilli

his week, I wanted to talk to you about houmous - mostly because, my youngest son Cyrus just loves it. He has it with pretty much everything, from fish and chips, to samosas and yes even with his curry!

I ran out of houmous last week and he wasn’t a happy bunny, so I thought it can’t be that difficult to make, so I made it and it wasn’t. There was the added bonus that it actually tasted much better than shop bought, probably because I made it with a hint of chilli - well come on, did you expect anything less... after all, I am the spice queen!

Apart from the hint of chilli, the zesty freshness of the lemon came through which is often not the case

Twith ready-made houmous. Just to make you aware that there are many different recipes for houmous, by that I don’t mean the ones you can buy in the supermarkets with added caramelised onions, or sweet chilli etc. I am talking about authentic houmous which is fundamentally a combination of chick peas, tahini (sesame paste) lemon juice and salt. Even though the ingredients are very similar the recipe varies from country to country.

I went on a cooking tour in Lebanon a couple of years ago and loved their Arabic style houmous. I had such a good time in Lebanon that apparently I talked about it for months afterwards, in fact every time I say the word Lebanon my friends and family say “really, you went to Lebanon?”

It’s a long standing joke in our home but it’s all done in good jest. ..Anyway, I am digressing, but you know me, I often do. So back to this week’s recipe for houmous. As I said there are various recipes; Lebanese houmous is usually silky smooth with a creamy like consistency, Greek houmous is served drizzled with oodles of olive oil and Turkish houmous often contains cumin.

The differences are subtle, but whatever the recipe, houmous is very much in vogue and seems to be increasingly prevalent on our supermarket shelves, in high-end deli counters and restaurants here in the U.K. I personally think that one of the best things about houmous is that is suitable for almost anybody, whether you are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and wheat-free. One would think with all those “frees” - that it would be taste-free, but far from it. Made correctly, it’s delicious.

In closing this week, I want to quote from one of my favourite TV shows of all time, Friends. It’s an early classic episode, actually it is Season 1, Episode 17 (can you tell I am a fan?). George Clooney has a scene with Monica where she makes some houmous, in trying to defuse a heated argument between Monica and Rachel, he says “God bless the chick pea”.. .My sentiments, exactly!

INGREDIENTS

400g tin of chickpeas; 2 tbsp lemon juice or to taste; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste); 1 garlic cloves; ½ tsp salt; ¼ green Chilli; ¼ tsp paprika

METHOD

1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, peel and chop the garlic

2. In a blender add the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, salt, tahini, green chilli and a couple of tablespoons of water. Blend to a creamy purée.

3. Have a little taste and add more lemon juice, or salt if required

4. Empty onto a serving plate. To dress your hummus, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little paprika.

Enjoy with some toasted pitta bread.