But the possibilities are (almost) endless. Murad, meanwhile, drizzles her hummus with olive oil and adds something textural, which might be extra cooked chickpeas, pine nuts fried in paprika oil, or fried garlic chips. Srulovich also adds garlic, lemon juice, salt, and enough tahini that it “seizes up”, then tops with a sprinkling of cumin. And don’t be impatient: “this takes longer than you think once completely smooth, another four minutes”. Srulovich, meanwhile, uses a stick blender to whizz his chickpeas and cooking water, which should “just cover the chickpeas”. “They aerate the hummus and create this amazing, smooth texture when I worked in a kitchen in Bahrain, I saw a Syrian chef put ice cubes in the hummus machine and I’ve never looked back.” Start with less and see if it needs more.” A crushed garlic clove (again, “taste to see if you want more”) also goes in, along with a few ice cubes. “Use a generous amount of the best quality tahini – if I have 500g cooked chickpeas, say, that could need anywhere between 100g and 180g tahini. Then, it’s imperative that the chickpeas are warm when blending: “It helps create really smooth hummus,” says Murad, who adds some warm chickpea cooking water to the food processor, too. You’ll also want to scoop up and discard the skins, which will float to the surface – “it’s quite meditative,” Murad assures. Heat-wise, Srulovich suggests a rapid boil: “let them bubble nicely for 20, 30, or 40 minutes (depending on the batch of chickpeas), until really soft.” And keep skimming the foam off. “It gives a nice, subtle flavour,” she says, but admits not everyone agrees (Srulovich included). “It’s a bit of an oxymoron but good, fresh dried chickpeas will be ready in two to three hours.” Once drained, Murad cooks her chickpeas in fresh water, with more bicarb (“it helps the skins separate from the chickpeas”) and ground cumin seeds. “They need to double in size,” Srulovich says, and some chickpeas will do this faster than others. However, if time isn’t an issue, Murad and Srulovich recommend dried, which, of course, require soaking in water and, for Murad, bicarb. “They’re smooth, salty, and produce amazing hummus,” says Noor Murad, co-author of OTK Extra Good Things. Jarred chickpeas are a good (albeit pricey) option if you’re in a rush. “It’s hard to find good ones – it took us five years to find our supplier, and if you’re that dedicated, we need to talk.” “You have some easy wins: juicing the lemon yourself, fresh garlic, and you can buy good tahini now.” Where it “gets a bit murky” is the chickpeas. What’s the secret to making brilliant hummus, and are there any variations to try? Jenny, Birmingham “As there are so few ingredients in hummus, everything matters,” says Itamar Srulovich, whose latest venture, Honey & Co Daily, opens this month.
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