Ingredients

The following ingredients have 5 Servings
  • 250 g / a little over 1¼ cup of dry chickpeas (3 cups cooked), soaked overnight
  • 4 tbsp / ¼ cup lemon juice
  • approx. 1 tsp salt, adjust to taste
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 1/3 cup tahini, hulled
  • appox. ¼ cup / 60 ml fridge-cold water
  • ½ cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
  • 2-3 tbsp hot chilli flakes
  • ¼ tsp salt (optional)

Instruction

  • Rinse your chickpeas after an overnight soak and put them into a large pot with plenty of fresh water. Bring them to the boil and simmer for about 75-90 minutes, until very tender and almost falling apart.
  • To make chilli oil, bring ½ cup of olive oil to a gentle boil. Take it off the heat. Stir chilli flakes and salt (if using) into the hot oil. Set aside to cool down before using.
  • Once cooked, fish the chickpeas out of the pot with a slotted spoon and rinse them under a stream of cold water to help loosen the skin.
  • If peeling the chickpeas, simply rub them between your hands and then slip the skin off gently with your fingers. I'll be honest, I no longer bother with that as it's just too time consuming.
  • Place chickpeas in a food processor or an upright blender. If have a food processor with a sharp blade, it will yield good enough result. Otherwise use a blender and a tamper - which will be needed to get the mixture moving.
  • If using a food processor, add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and most of the salt. Process while slowly trickling in chickpea cooking water (about ½ cup / 120 ml) until you achieve a creamy consistency you like.
  • If using a blender, add ½ cup / 120 ml of chickpea cooking water, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, most of the salt and half of the chickpeas to the bottom of the blender. Blend until smooth, then add remaining chickpeas and blend some more whilst trickling in cold water through the opening in the lid. Use a tamper or stop and use a spatula to move the mixture around if it gets stuck.
  • Serve with a drizzle of chilli oil, toasted bread or pita bread, olives, pickles and anything that takes your fancy. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, it keeps for about 3-4 days.