Monday, 3 May 2010

Midday Mezze

Mr M headed out on Sunday mountain biking and I had a wonderful day gardening planned. Unfortunately the previously forecast sunny day failed to materialise and I was unable to plant out my herbs and edible flowers (I have made it my mission only to plant useful plants in my garden - ones that can be eaten or used for medicinal purposes). In need of some sunshine I headed to the kitchen and discovered some wonderful crisp peppers and juicy olives that were crying out to be teamed up with some hummus.

Before the house move we spent a long time using up store cupboard ingredients and the jars of useful pastes and sauces that live in the back of the fridge and have not yet re-stocked our collection (this has been further aggravated by the loss of last years chutney to mildew). It was a lack of tahini paste that led to the inception of the following recipe and a wonderfully bright midday meal.


Hummus

400g can chickpeas, drained
Small red onion, roughly chopped
Small hand full of parsley, roughly chopped
Large garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp sesame oil
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
lots of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Place chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, sesame oil and water in a blender, blend to a rough paste gradually adding the lemon juice and olive oil, taste regularly and add more or less oil and lemon according to your preference. Season to taste.
Serve with warm pitta or flat breads, olives and a selection of crisp veg. I added a good dollop of some spicy Harrisa paste to the top of my hummus for an extra kick.

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