Houmous, hummus, humous?

1952 edition

Mr Happy Larder is on his way to London to collect my mum from the airport whilst I finish making the last preparations.  The house is clean and tidy, there's food ready for when they arrive.  And whilst I am happy and excited, I also know how lucky we are and feel for the people of Oklahoma who have suffered so badly as a result of the tornado - it never ceases to shock me how Nature can be so beautiful and yet so cruel at the same time.

As I was tidying up, I found yet another old cookbook.  This one is a 1952 edition of Duncan Hines' " Adventures in Good Cooking" - it's brilliant and has fabulous recipes as well as lots of little captions which make for very entertaining reading.  Here's a quote that I am sure would not appear in a cookbook nowadays: "A word to dinner givers.  Please have ashtrays larger than thimbles.".  That really made me laugh :-)  I will see if I can find some easy recipes in there that will appeal...

One that definitely appeals to me is this easy version of houmous.  I always used to eat the shopbought version, thinking it would be impossible to make it at home and get it to taste right.  Well, I was wrong - it's super easy and the homemade version tastes delicious.  No need for additives or similar - just a handful of simple ingredients.  This is perfect in salad stuffed pitta bread pockets, as a dip for crudites,...


Houmous

You can make this fabulous dip/filling with or without the tahini (sesame paste).

Ingredients:
200g chickpeas (tinned, drained)
2 cloves of garlic
2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
100g tahini (a sesame paste)
2 - 3 tbsp lemon juice
salt & pepper
1 tsp paprika powder
some water to adjust the consistency
 

1. In a food processor, combine the drained chickpeas with all the other ingredients to make a puree. If the mixture is too solid, simply add a couple of spoonfuls of water.
2. Adjust the seasoning by adding salt, pepper and transfer to a small bowl.
3. Drizzle with more olive oil and top with a sprinkling of paprika powder.  Job done!

Why not use canned beans such as broad beans or white beans instead of the chickpeas?