I'm a real fan of hummus, this middle-eastern delight is full of flavour. Making exceptional hummus is a pure delight and eating it with bread, vegetables, falafel, minty yoghurt or pretty much anything you want to add to the platter is pure heaven.
Hummus is made of 3 basic ingredients; chickpeas, tahini and fresh lemon juice (definitely fresh lemon juice) oh yes…and make sure your tahini is the best quality you can get, its job is to make the hummus rich and luscious. The tahini that’s been in the back of the fridge for ages, separated and sludgy will give a bitter and nasty tasting hummus…time to chuck it out….just saying.
I’ve added a little touch of my own here, some OutbackChef’s Bush Curry to add a little extra zing.
Into a food processor add the chickpeas, then the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, you can add a little water if too dry, this will help create a smooth buttery texture.
Put into a sealed container and chill until you use
This will last at least a week in the fridge.
....take out approx 1/3 of the hummus mixture and add approx 1/4 cup of blanched Warragul Greens and back to the processor and blend, it goes a wonderful green colour, perfect for St Patrick's Day!
Spread the hummus on a plate, make a little pathway with a knife thru the hummus and pour some Extra Virgin Olive Oil into the pathway, top with chopped and roasted pine nuts for a little texture, some paprika sprinkled over or sesame seeds, roasted sunflower seeds or pepitas……just use your imagination here, whatever takes your fancy!
On my board I’ve put roasted pumpkin chunks that were roasted with garlic, plus a little sprinkle of Strawberry Gum Leaf and salt. Crispty lettuce is great, finely sliced green beans, tomatoes and feta cheese with thinly sliced sour dough bread and some falafels, I cheated here and bought a store bought falafels mix, I needed quick and easy! A little dish of minty yoghurt and hard boiled eggs would also work well.
Keeps in the fridge for about a week or so, great for guests or for the Esky when you’re out and about. Lots of little containers with lots of tasty treats.