Hummus - morning and night

I said I would bring something for morning tea tomorrow at work for a colleague who is bringing her new baby in. I know she likes savoury food so I thought I'd make a dip to take in with some rice crackers and carrot batons.

I decided to use an old recipe I haven’t made for a while - Mollie Katzen’s hummus. I got this recipe from a friend many years ago before I went vegetarian, when I was still learning a lot about cooking. When I first went vegetarian, Mollie was a cookbook celebrity for me before we had Nigella and Jamie, so the recipe makes me feel nostalgic.

I now own the Moosewood Cookbook and used the recipe from there tonight. When I compared it to my friend's notes, I realised why it didn’t taste quite the same – in the 2nd edition Mollie has halved the tahini. Next time I might revert to the original version. My inclination would also be to put a teaspoon of chilli paste into the mix but I eased off and just was liberal with salt and pepper because I am making this for work colleagues.

It seemed obvious to combine my dip-making with dinner so it inspired me to serve a couple of spoonfuls with falafel (from a box), yoghurt, pita breads, and veggies (tomato, baby spinach, corn, green capsicum, and dill pickle).

Update 2012 - I have updated my Hummus recipe to reflect how I make it these day.

Hummus
From Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook (2nd edn)
- 2 to 3 medium cloves of garlic
- A large handful of parsley
- 2 spring onions/scallions (optional – I didn’t have these and left them out)
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 x 440g tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed)
- 6 tbsp tahini (or ¾ cup in original recipe)
- 6 tbsp lemon juice
- ¾ - 1 tsp salt (to taste – I used 1 tsp to compensate for less chilli)
- yoghurt (optional)
- cayenne and cumin to taste (optional – I didn’t use)

Mollie says to mince garlic and parley (and spring onions) in food processor separately to other ingredients, but I chopped them finely and then blitzed in food processor with chickpeas, tahini, and lemon juice. Season to taste. I found the mixture a little stiff so added some yoghurt. Chill in container.


On the Stereo
The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle and Sebastian