How come I’m posting about hummus? Well we always have a tub in the fridge whether we are in St. Lucia or the UK. My whole family loves it and it’s super versatile. Usually it is greedily scooped up on crackers, or dolloped onto a salad, or used as the spread for a sandwich. As I wrote the word “crackers” a minute ago I thought I would tell you about “Crix” crackers which are universally found in the Southern Caribbean and have as their catch line “essential supplies.” Crix has come to mean cracker in this part of the world.
We are made up of a pot pourri of nations and gene pools in the Caribbean, and the Middle East is well represented which is of course where hummus originated. It really is only in recent years however that we are able to get the second most important ingredient for this dish….tahini. But, necessity is the mother of invention as they say, and a few months ago (when we were in Tobago for the grannies 80th), I was determined to make hummus and there was no tahini to be had. Remember, most things are imported into these islands so we are subject to all the possible troubles inherent in importation. There was however, sesame seeds a plenty. So, I bought a large packet, roasted them gently on the stove top and ground them in a blender. Hey presto….tahini, which was used to make a delicious batch of hummus, eaten at the beach the next day. So here’s a post on how to make your own hummus for those who haven’t already!
Ingredients to make your own Hummus
800g (4 c) peas I use either canned or home cooked
120g (1/2 c) tahini
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon/lime
200ml water
salt and pepper
optional extras: bunch coriander finely chopped and/or 3 large roasted red peppers
Method
Place all the ingredients in the food processor and blitz. You will need to decide whether there is enough water or not, remembering that when this mixture cools in the fridge it does become a bit firmer. This blitzing takes longer than you would expect to achieve a smooth result, so persevere. Its worth it.
4 Comments
Nina Chernichen
February 22, 2014 at 1:09 pmTrying the Hummous.Congrads on the website!!!XO
Germaine
February 22, 2014 at 1:52 pmThanks Nina. Hope it turns out well. Let me know please
janekinghippolyte
January 7, 2015 at 7:19 pmHiya! I find that when I use canned chickpeas it is very important to wash off all the liquid they are canned in… it tastes disgusting, and I don’t know why.
Germaine
January 7, 2015 at 10:05 pmThat’s really strange Jane. I don’t wash it off at all and in fact add it to the mix if its too dry. Can’t explain that…………