Hommus

As I was wondering what I could entertain your taste buds with next, one of my dear friends, ever so divine Mama Colombiana, wanted me to pass on my hommus recipe. This one is especially for her.

I have to confess I have never actually tasted hommus until I came to Australia. My mother used to make a lot of fava (a thick solid paste made from broad beans served as an appetiser) but never hommus.

As I mentioned before, my family is from the western part of Turkey and our cuisine is more influenced by our Mediterranean neighbours rather than our Arabic ones. So I have learnt to like and make hommus during my days working in the kebab shop in Newcastle while waiting for my bridging visa.

I have also found out during that time that hommus is very widely known and consumed in Eastern Turkey where food is very much influenced by the Arabic and Persian cuisines and spices. In Adana, they even make different versions of hommus. 

The one I have learnt from a native Adanali (person from Adana, a city on the South Eastern part Turkey famous for its kebabs and spicy sauces) and fell in love with is the steaming hot version made by placing the hommus into a small clay pot or ramekin, topping it up with dried crushed chillies and mozzarella then baking it in the oven until the cheese melts and bubbles. The outcome is this warm bubble of chickpeas wrapped in a melted cheese cloud that hits you with a pang of chilli that you cannot helps but dig in until you find yourself scraping the bottom of the pot.

This is a basic recipe for my version of the homemade hommus.

You can serve it with crackers, vegetable sticks, or toasted Turkish bread or flatbread. I sometimes even use it as a sandwich spread instead of avocado or mayonnaise.

Two things you should keep in mind:

1) Garlic tends to infuse more flavour over time so make sure you taste the hommus in half an hour or so before adding more.

2) Chickpeas are known to soak up water overnight even after they are cooked so if your hommus is too dense the next day, just add little bit of water and stir it in.

Rather than using canned chickpeas, you might prefer to soak up dried chickpeas overnight, boil them and peel them yourselves. By all means go for it if that is your preference. I neither have the patience nor the discipline to even try.

You might also like a more lemony, garlicky or blend version. Adding more is always easier than subtracting so add the garlic, lemon and salt in small amounts and build up till you get the taste you prefer. Some add  different spices to their hommus but I like to taste the chickpeas and tahini so I prefer mine free of spices.

I prefer my hommus thick and not too smooth as I like the rustic look and feel of it. If you prefer it smoother or runnier, than process it further by adding small amounts of water to the paste in the end until you get the consistency you like.

In short feel free to experiment until you get the dip that you cannot stop dipping into.


Humus (Hommus)

Ingredients:

1 400gr can of chickpeas
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons of tahini paste
1 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and sweet paprika to taste



Here is how:

Empty the can of chickpeas into a strainer and wash them under running water. Drain.

Put the chickpeas in a food processor and process them until they are crumbled.

Add the minced garlic, half the lemon juice, tahini paste, olive oil and process until you get a smooth paste.

Add salt and paprika and remaining lemon juice according to your taste.

Place it in a small serving dish and top it up with a drizzle of oil and paprika before serving.

Afiyet Olsun!