When I started to come round from my terrible illness that kept me bed ridden until late afternoon yesterday (see post) and I began to resemble a human again I decided to make some houmous. An odd choice I hear you say, why have something to eat that is nutty, garlicky and contains acidic lemon juice when you have a stomach so sensitive it needs counselling? There is only one answer, it was just what I fancied and when you are ill you need to satisfy your whims and wants.
A word of warning about making home made houmous. Tahini paste on it’s own is revolting, it smells a bit like peanut butter but does not taste like it so don’t stick the spoon in your mouth after you have scooped it out of the jar. It will make you retch.
Houmous
- 285g can of chick peas, drained.
- 100g tahini
- Juice of 2-3 lemons
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Splash of cream.
Put the chick peas, garlic and tahini in a bowl and blend. If you are using a little hand blender like the one I have it may struggle (chick peas are surprisingly hard to blend) – the motor on mine got a bit too hot for my liking so a proper processor might be better.
Mix in the lemon juice a bit at a time. I used the juice of three lemons as I like it quite lemony but add enough to suit your taste.
The mix will still be quite stiff so keep adding olive oil a bit at a time to loosen.
Finally stir in a tablespoon of cream, pop it in a nice dish and sprinkle a bit of paprika over to garnish. Scoop up with some roti bread.
Roti Bread
Roti bread is far too easy to make and goes brilliantly with dips such as houmous or tzatziki but is also the ideal companion for a fruity tagine or a curry.
- 100g strong wholemeal bread flour
- Pinch of salt
- Warm water
Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a little well in the centre of the flour. Add the water a bit at a time to bring the mix into a dough.
Divide the dough into 6, flour the work surface and roll out until they are about 3-4 mm thick.
Heat up a frying pan and dry cook each roti until for a few minutes on each side making sure that they don’t burn. You will get little pockets of air expanding in the dough which puff up during the cooking. Keep the roti warm while you cook the rest. Serve immediately.
Hummus is great anytime!! thanks for sharing your recipe and that great flatbread!
That bread recipe has been used over and over again in our house. We have it with all sorts and it is so easy to make.
You add cream to hummus? What is it for if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve seen loads of different recipes for hummus but never one with cream. I’ve tried making it lots of times too, but I can never get a ‘creamy’ consistency (it’s always kind of grainy), but maybe cream is the ‘secret’ ingredient!!
When we were making it we too struggled to get a creamy consistency which is what prompted us to look through the fridge for something to sort it. We thought cream might work and it did. I am beginning to wonder if houmous is supposed to be grainy and we are all just too used to the shop-bought sort. I am going to have another go later in the week at making it again, I feel that less tahini might work (and my huband would agree as he thinks it is vile). Also, I am going to get some shop-bought and have a look at the ingredients to see if I can unravel the secrets of smooth houmous!
It would be interesting to know… could be a combination of things I guess. I did a bit of research when I was trying to attain ‘smooth hummus nirvana’ and the only tip I could find to improve smoothness was to blitz the chickpeas when they’re hot – the finished product still wasn’t as smooth as the shop bought stuff (I think you’re right Natalie – we’re just too used to it).
Do you have a recipe for houmous Jessica?
I like the addition of cream to your hummus – yummy and I love your easy recipe for roti. I have a more traditional recipe which, sadly is not as healthy as yours but does include the ever loved butter. Have a look at my recipe here: http://thecompletecookbook.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/roti/
Mandy
Nice recipe, a bit different than some I have tried.
Thanks for the comment. Come back soon.