Hummus

his recipe is a pretty standard hummus recipe. I think it's fairly traditional, although I probably include more garlic than most people. I use roasted garlic, which is quite mellow. You can add other things to this, like sundried tomatoes, spinach, roasted bell peppers, and so on.

Here's the list of ingredients:

• Half a can of organic chickpeas
• A whole head of roasted garlic
• A handful of toasted sesame seeds or some pre-made tahini paste
• Pinch of salt
• A couple of tablespoons of olive oil (less if you're going with pre-made tahini)
• The juice from half of a lemon

Drain a bit of the liquid in the can of chickpeas into the food processor, and add half of the can of chickpeas in there. Discard the rest of the liquid. Squeeze in a whole head of roasted garlic, and add your salt and lemon juice. Obviously, try not get to get lemon pips in there.

If you've got tahini paste, add a big tablespoon. Otherwise, finely grind your sesame seeds in a coffee grinder, or by hand with a mortar and pestle. I love my mortar and pestle. It's a great way to get rid of a lot of frustration. When they are a fine powder, add them to the food processor and add a couple of lugs of olive oil.

Blitz the whole thing until it's a fine paste. If it's a bit runny, add some more chickpeas. If it's too thick and crumbly, add a bit more olive oil, or maybe a bit of water. Serve in a bowl, with maybe some red chili flakes or something.

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