Hummus Bi Tahini (Delia Smith)

One of my goals this year is learning to make healthier dishes for my family and cooking with a variety of bean dishes tops that list since beans are high in fiber and antioxidants. Canned baked beans aside, I knew nothing about what I can do with beans. Earlier this year, I saw my friend Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out blog about a Hummus recipe and it looked really easy.

I wasn't very keen on cooking chick peas for two hours and I was really pleased to find canned Garzabo Beans (Chick Peas) at the supermarket. At the same time, I ordered a jar of organic Tahini/Sesame Paste from the States and used it in this Delia Smith recipe (I also buy organic food like peanut butter and Nutella from overseas because its so much cheaper - but that is another story).  

Making Hummus is really easy as all the ingredients are blended together in the blender. I loved the creamy mixture and the lovely aftertaste of the Tahini and garlic made for a delicious filling for some Home Made Pita Bread. 

This is for Cook like a Star, Delia Smith blog hop event, hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Grab the HTML Code for the event here.

Hummus Bi Tahini (Serves 4)

A Delia Smith Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 oz (110 g) dried chickpeas (I used 2 cans or 910 g of canned chickpeas)
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 fat cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 fl oz (150 ml) Tahini paste
• Cayenne pepper (I used black pepper)
• 150 ml of cooking water from chick peas or water (I used about 170 ml)
• Salt

To garnish:

• Olive oil
• Parsley

Method

• To begin with put the chickpeas in a saucepan and cover them well with boiling water, then put on one side to soak for 2 hours. Next bring them to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 1½-2 hours until the chickpeas are tender. Then drain them – reserve the cooking liquid. Alternatively, you can use canned chick peas, rinse them and drain them well. 
• Remove the white covering from the chickpeas before you blend them. 
• Put the chickpeas into a blender together with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and 5 fl oz (150 ml) of the cooking liquid or water.
• Switch on and blend, adding the Tahini paste to the mixture as the blades revolve. (It will probably be necessary to stop the blender every now and then to push the mixture down into the goblet.) The consistency should be something like a mayonnaise and, if you think it's too thick, add a little more of the cooking liquid/water. Taste and season with cayenne pepper and salt.
• Place in a serving bowl and garnish with a thin layer of olive oil, some chopped parsley and a pinch or two of cayenne pepper. Have plenty of fresh, hot, crusty bread as an accompaniment.