Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Hommus, Hummus, Homous

So many ways to say it, so many ways to make it.
But today I'm going to share with you, my Dad's way.


My father, Takis, is a bit of a mad professor when it comes to experimenting with food. He will spend weeks, if not months, perfecting a particular creation in the kitchen. Even something as simple as hommus. No matter what he's making, he will go to whatever length it takes to make sure the flavour, the texture and the aroma is tweaked and refined to absolute perfection.

But only Takis knows when it's perfect. He may use other people as guinea pigs in the process, but like many proud Greeks, my dad doesn't want to hear your opinion unless it's a favourable one. Even if he asks you "Do you like it?", you mustn't answer. Takis is the only one that can criticise his own food and will make sure he immediately responds to his own question with "It needs more lemon doesn't it". Only then can you speak, and you have two choices: Reluctantly agree with him or tell him "It's great the way it is!"

The process of formulating the ultimate hommus recipe was (and still is!) an enjoyable one for Takis. Around ten years in the making, just about every time we were invited over for lunch there would be another version of hommus for us to try. My proud dad in his favourite I Love Limnos apron, bowl in one hand, spoon in the other (actually, spoon in our face) would encourage us to taste "Here, you must try. Please. This one is very good." As they all were.


There's nothing rocket-scientific about my dad's recipes. He just loves any excuse to spend time in the kitchen making food that makes people happy. And if perfecting a simple dish means another marathon session in the kitchen, then out comes the Limnos apron again. But once dad is finally happy with his creation, you'd better be sure you love it too, because if you don't love dad's food, there won't be a lot of love for you.

So when making hommus, the big tip from Takis is to use dried chickpeas soaked in water overnight, rather than canned. But one big problem comes with this big tip. If you are using dried chickpeas, you have to remove their skins which is a somewhat tedious process. It's worth it though because dried chickpeas give a much "fresher" flavour (in my dad's own words) to your hommus.


Hommus, Hummus, Homous

Recipe by Takis (my dad)

Ingredients

  • 200g dried chickpeas (soaked in water overnight)
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 3 tablespoons tahini
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Extra salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Drain the soaked chickpeas, rinse and transfer to a large pot.
  2. Cover the chickpeas with plenty of water and bring to the boil.
  3. Allow to cook for 30 minutes, then drain and transfer chickpeas to a large bowl of cold water.
  4. Remove skins from the chickpeas by lightly squeezing them one by one between your fingers. The skins should come off easily. Discard skins and throw skinned chickpeas back into the saucepan you used earlier to cook them.
  5. Cover chickpeas with water again and boil for another 30–45 minutes, until very soft.
  6. Drain chickpeas and transfer to food processor, adding the garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
  7. Blend until smooth then add extra salt to taste.

Serve in a fancy bowl or on a pretty plate, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lightly dust with paprika. I love my hommus with crusty, grain-filled bread. It's also lovely with fresh sticks of celery or carrot.




14 comments:

  1. I often buy Hommus, so I will have to try and make this one myself.
    Cheers,
    Chris

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    1. Hi Chris! This home-made stuff is the best! (And I'm not just saying that because dad told me to!) What's great about making your own is you can add as much or as little garlic as you like. I find the garlic "flavouring" in store-bought hommus really overpowering.

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  2. your father sounds adorable! i love hummus and am always looking for a new recipe to try. i've always heard that pealing chickpeas was the one way to ensure silky smooth hummus. i will have to give this one a try!

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    1. Yeah he's a funny guy.. so greek. Dad's recipe really is just a classic hommus but he exudes so much passion when he cooks that he convinces you he's actually a master chef. I do like the process of removing the chickpea shells though - it's actually quite therapeutic!

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  3. You know, I have such trouble making hummus. I'm actually working on developing a hummus recipe this week and it just will not come together. Maybe I need to get over my reluctance to peel the chickpeas. :) I love the story about your dad!

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    1. Peeling the chickpeas makes a huge difference, as does using a good food processor/blender. I've made hommus using both a food processor and a Bamix stick blender and neither have resulted in the creamy smooth consistency that my dad produces! I don't really mind the slightly grainy texture of my hommus though :)

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  4. Isn't it funny all the different spelling variation on this dip? I do love hommus and have tried making it a few times. I'm sure your dad would disapprove because I cooked the chickpeas and whizzed them without peeling the skins. This seems quite a task! But I would imagine completely worth it, texturewise. I have a friend who makes wonderful hommus..I think it tastes so nice because I didn't have to do any of the preparation. Just sit back and enjoy the eating of it. ;)

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    1. I know, the spelling. I've even seen "Hoomus"! The trick to removing the chickpea skins is to do it before they are completely cooked, before they become really mushy. Hence the double boiling process. They really do slip off quite easily this way, and really, it only takes about 20 minutes once you get a rhythm going!

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  5. I've always made hummus with canned chickpeas--it always has come out so-so. Your story and recipe inspired me to start from scratch. Halfway through peeling the chickpeas, I was thinking no hummus could possibly be good enough to make the effort/tedium of the task worthwhile. I was wrong. So wonderfully delicious and creamy. This is the only way I will make hummus from now on--thank you--to you and to your Dad.

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    1. Thank you so much for your lovely comment Marian. I love hearing success stories from people who have tried my (or my dad's!) recipes. I'm so happy you pushed through the peeling and ended up with a gorgeously creamy hummus! :)

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  6. I just put 3 TABLESPOONS of cumin in!!!! It pays to take proper notice of the recipe...

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    1. Oh no!! That would have made for a very interesting hommus!

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  7. Hi I'm a hundred percent Greek! And I'm born in and live in Greece!! Takis Dad must either be lying to the public to sell his cook book! Or he is FLAT OUT DELUSIONAL!! BECAUSE "HUMMUS" DOES NOT EXIST IN GREECE!! I REPEAT HUMMUS "IS NOT" GREEK!! It is from the Middle East countries which are in West Asia. PLEASE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT "HUMMUS IS NOT" GREEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  8. Followed recipe to the letter.Ended up with inedible slop. Not to mention the time spent making it. My grandmother was Greek. I wish she was still alive because I'm sorry that was terrible.

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