Helen’s easy hummous

In the UK, you can buy hummous in any supermarket and most delicatessens. Not so in Chile, where it is hard to find and expensive.

I used to view it as something difficult to make but then I decided just to simplify things and figured out my own, super easy version of this great spread. This is fast food, delicious and healthy. What more could you want? It will last for a few days in the fridge and is one of those dishes that tastes better the day after it’s made.

For a stress-free party, make-ahead dishes like Helen’s easy hummous are a godsend.

Ingredients

• 380g (or thereabouts) of ready-cooked chickpeas (in a can or carton)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of Tahini
• Salt to taste

Method

• Crush the garlic into a bowl.
• Add a pinch of salt and the cumin.
• Drizzle over the olive oil and the tahini.
• Add the chickpeas (don’t throw away the liquid from the tin or carton).
• If you have a great food processor, you can whizz the whole lot in that. As mine looks like it will give up the ghost if I try to purée this mix in it, I just make my hummous manually using a potato masher. It only takes a couple of minutes and the result is a bit rustic but very tasty anyway.
• If the mixture seems a bit dry, add some of the chickpea liquid until it has the right consistency: moist but thick, like a pâté.
• Taste the mix and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• Put in a tub in the fridge.

For more party recipes, check out these links:

Chilean chips

Dairy-free chicken liver pâté

Prawn cocktail