Hummus Bowl

About This Recipe

This Lebanese-style hummus bowl goes far beyond the store-bought dip — chickpeas are cooked from dried and blended with an unusually generous amount of tahini and ice-cold water to produce a cloud-like, ivory-smooth purée, then finished with a pool of fruity olive oil, warm whole chickpeas, a dusting of cumin and paprika, and fresh parsley.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 400 gcanned chickpeas, drained (reserve liquid)
• 120 ggood-quality tahini
• 3 tbsplemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 largeclove garlic, roughly chopped
• 0.75 tspsalt
• 4 tbspice-cold water
• 3 tbspextra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
• 0.5 tspground cumin
• 0.5 tspsmoked or sweet paprika
• 2 tbspfresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 4 pieceswarm pita or flatbread, to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Blend the base

   Reserve a handful of whole chickpeas for topping. Place the rest in a food processor with garlic and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute until roughly blended. Add tahini and salt, process 1 more minute.

2. 2

   Emulsify with ice water

   With the processor running, slowly pour in 4 tbsp ice-cold water. Process for 3–4 minutes until incredibly smooth and light. The mixture will look curdled at first but will come together into a fluffy, pale purée. Taste and adjust lemon and salt.

3. 3

   Plate and garnish

   Spoon hummus into wide shallow bowls. Use the back of a spoon to create a swirling well in the centre. Fill the well with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Scatter the reserved warm chickpeas over the top. Dust with cumin and paprika, and finish with parsley.

4. 4

   Serve

   Serve immediately with warm pita bread. Additional accompaniments can include pickles, sliced raw vegetables, or a soft-boiled egg.

Variations

• •

  Add 1 roasted red pepper to the blender for a vibrant, sweet variation.

• •

  Top with spiced lamb mince and toasted pine nuts for a hearty main course (msabbaha-style).

Storage

Refrigerate hummus up to 5 days. Drizzle fresh olive oil over the surface before storing to prevent drying.