A: Dippity-doo-da-dip-it-today!

Alas I have been internet-starved for nearly 2 whole weeks! The universe must have been conspiring against me, as the workroom was flooded in and computers at work were also out of commission during this time. I hurried to check my emails as soon as the internet at home was up again (we swapped service providers or something like that) and was quickly put in my place when I checked my emails, most of which were from people with surnames void of vowels or notifications of me need to enlarge parts of my body that don’t exist. 😦 Oh well, life goes on.

Had the opportunity to make one of my favourite dips today- hummus! I love it, and I love making it. At any given time I tend to have all the ingredients I need to make hummus, which makes it a perfect party standby as far as I’m concerned. I love it with lots and lots of olive oil drizzled over the top with smoked and mild paprika and crusty bread. (Really I could eat it with a spoon and feel little to no guilt in regard to this near fat-free indulgence.)

Hummus

Ingredients:

2 heaped tbsp tahini (sesame paste, I hear you can substitute smooth peanut butter but make sure it’s the health store variety without too much added sugar. If you’re in a health store you might as well get the damn tahini.)

1 tin chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved.

juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp smoked paprika mixed with 1 tsp mild paprika

Method:

1. Process chickpeas with garlic, coriander and tahini and 2-3 tbsp of the reserved liquid until reasonably smooth. Add 1-2 tbsp of the olive oil if the mix is too dry.

2. Add lemon juice a little at a time, tasting as you go.

3. Add remaining olive oil and seasoning (a healthy pinch of salt should do it, and lots of black pepper).

4. Spread hummus on a plate and sprinkle with paprika mixture, followed by more olive oil.

Voila!

p/s: For something really special, top the hummus with ground lamb fried (till a little crisp and quite dry) with red onion and seasoned with cinnamon and coriander, garnished with roasted pinenuts, fresh coriander and parsley! (And the obigatory drizzle of olive oil, of course.)