Hummus and Dukkah

I think middle eastern flavours are some of the best. If I had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life it would be a falafel pita wrap with garlic yogurt sauce, hummus and tabbouleh. The thing is all of these components are fairly time intensive and so understandably my motivation to regularly make falafels and tabbouleh at home is low. Although it is good incentive to grow parsley and mint in your garden, so if the mood takes you, you have some of the critical ingredients at the ready! 

I haven't been eating proper lunches the past week or so and I find that eating low amounts of meat and fish means I can't afford to be lazy with what I am putting in my body, otherwise i start craving rubbish like processed cakes and chocolate. I also find I keep eating even though I am full because I haven't given my body what it needs. When I get like this I make a big batch of hummus and dukkah and eat it with salads for several days and pretty soon I start to feel better.

Hummus: anyone who tells you hummus is hard to make is talking shit, it is one of the easiest, healthiest, tastiest things you can prepare. Personally I think the trick is to taste as you go, add less than the advised amount of tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and olive oil - taste - then add whatever you feel is missing. How you like your hummus is down to personal taste. If you like it nutty, add more tahini, if you like it sour add more lemon, if you like it rich - go hard on the olive oil. After a few goes you will figure out how you like it.

All you need is a hand blender or food processor (I do not recommend doing it in an upright blender - it's too thick) and the following ingredients....

Hummus

1/2 cup dried chick peas soaked overnight OR 1 tin chickpeas

1-2 tbl tahini

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 a small clove of garlic

good quality extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

(1/2 tsp roasted cumin seeds* optional)

if you are using dried chickpeas (which I recommend due to their ability to make a lovely, light and fluffy hummus), soak them overnight, change the water and boil for about 10-15 minutes until they are fluffy and soft on the inside. Drain the water. If you are using tinned, don't forget to rinse them under cold water.

in a food processor add all the above listed ingredients and about 3 tablespoons of water and blend. It will probably be very thick, taste, add what you think is missing, blend and repeat.

Remember you can't go backwards unless you add more chickpeas, so add a little water at a time to get your desired consistency and go easy on the garlic, it is very strong because it is raw and has a way of sneaking up on you

If you are on a health kick, just add a splash of olive oil or none at all

If you are serving this to friends, add a generous amount of good quality olive oil and people will spend all night telling you how great it is

Dukkah: is another thing you can prepare that is fun to mess around with, in principle it's toasted nuts, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and sesame seeds, but you can add all kinds of things like chili, lemon myrtle, sumac, fennel - experiment and see what you come up with. I think traditionally people make it with hazelnuts, but personally i don't rate them. In this instance I used what i had in the pantry, which was pine nuts, cashews and walnuts. The ratios are not set in stone but i think you do a few tablespoons of the spices to about 2 cups of nuts... but again it's up to you

Dukkah

3 tbl cumin seeds

3 tbl coriander seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/3 cup cashews

1 cup walnuts

1/3 cup sesame seeds

toast all ingredients

I toasted the sesame seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and pine nuts one at a time in a dry fry pan

I toasted the walnuts and cashews together under the grill.

in a food processor first blend the coriander seeds for about a 30-60 seconds because they are large, strong in flavour and don't break up easy,

then add cumin and fennel seeds and pulse a few more times

add the large hard nuts (walnuts/cashews) and pulse 2-3 more times

add soft nuts (pine nuts) and pulse until it at your desired consistency

add sesame seeds and you're done!

sprinkle the dukkah over the hummus and serve with carrots, celery, cucumber snow peas, tomato and pita bread

Chickpea Salad

Dried chickpeas are a staple in my pantry, they are highly nutritious, a great substitute for meat and incredibly delicious. I understand why people prefer tinned, but I chose dried for several reasons

1. They are cheaper
2. They cost less to transport and store, therefore better for the environment
3. You can easily control the volume you cook 
4. I think they taste better

They make your humus fluffier and your salads fresher. It isn't that difficult to think, “hmmm I’ve been thinking about making a bean salad tomorrow, how about I soak those chickpeas”. It's a good habit to get into, quite often I will soak some chickpeas and decide the next day what to do with them.

Chickpea Salad

½ cup dried chickpeas soaked over night

1 tomato deseeded

1 cucumber deseeded

¼ of a red capsicum

1 stick of celery

¼ green apple

Fresh chilli

1 spring onion, green and whites OR a few slices of red onion

A mixture of fresh herbs including parsley, mint, coriander, dill, basil

Juice of 1 lime/lemon OR vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

salt/pepper

1. Put the soaked chickpeas in a saucepan with cold water (NO SALT) and bring to boil, let it simmer for ~10 minutes. Some chef recommend you remove the scum that forms through boiling process, like you would for a chicken stock but I’m unsure what difference it makes and do it if i remember.
2. While the chickpeas are cooking, finely chop all other ingredients. Chopping everything finely is the most important step because it means every mouthful contains a mix of all the tasty vegetables and herbs. I deseed the cucumber and tomato because it keeps the salad crunchy - but I do eat the seeds!
3. Keep an eye on the chickpeas, after ~7-8 minutes take one out, slice it in half and have a nibble. They are cooked when the knife cuts through them easily and they are soft and fluffy inside. It may take up to 15 minutes depending on the chickpeas and how long you soaked them for. When they are cooked, strain and run under cold water to cool.
4. Combine all ingredients! You can wait for the chickpeas to get cold, or make the salad warm, it comes down to personal preference and personally I enjoy both. but if you want it to last a couple of days, put the cooked chickpeas in the fridge and only assemble when they are cold.

This salad is really nice on its own, sprinkled on a garden salad or with fish or chicken. Sometimes I add a small tin of tuna if I feel the need to up the protein

Modifications…

This recipe is highly adaptable and easily modified. I’ve added a sprinkling of Mangal Chat Masala to todays salad, but it is by no means essential.  If you don’t have all these ingredients the essential components are 1) Some kind of onion, 2) fresh herbs and 3) tomato. You can also make this as a 4 bean mix salad, in which case use tinned 4 bean mix.

Warning: it is possible to overdose on chickpeas, they are very high in fibre, which for people like me with sensitive stomachs, it can get a bit hard wearing on your insides. So if you are new to chickpeas, take it slow and listen to your body – if it tells you it’s sick of chickpeas, put down the fork!