Mediterranean Savor: Hummus

◼  Cook the  chickpeas  with an onion, some  bay leaves  and salt to taste. I always use the same quantity of chickpeas, 200 grams.

◼  In a mixing bowl (with capacity for 1 liter) put the drained chickpeas, 4 or 5 sliced cloves garlic, a drizzle of  extra virgin olive oil  and salt (quantity to taste), the juice of a large  lemon  and a tablespoon of ready-made  Tahini  paste.

◼  Beat the mixture with an electric mixer until you get a paste with creamy texture; in case more liquid is needed, add a little of the stock from cooking the chickpeas or else lemon juice; this will depend on the taste of the one who is preparing the hummus.

◼  Place the paste in the refrigerator for a few hours; when you are going to use it, you can serve it a serving platter garnished with sweet paprika and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

◼  I like to make salads, with beetroot, zucchini, cucumber or radishes, cut into very thin slices to prepare some toast with Hummus, especially for dinner time.

>> see recipes made with chickpeas broth 

                   

Combination of sautéed spinach with chickpeas

◼  Sautéed spinach with raisins and almonds accompanied by cooked chickpeas.

◼  When I cook chickpeas to prepare Hummus, I cook them with an onion and some bay leaves; I usually cook more than I need to prepare the chickpea paste; so, on the one hand, I prepare hummus and on the other hand, another dish like this combination of sautéed spinach.

◼  In addition, I reserve the stock from cooking the chickpeas to prepare other recipes, for instance, a noodle soup.

◼  Spinach is cooked fast, in a saucepan with a little water and salt (to taste) or steamed. In a skillet, first sauté in a little extra virgin olive oil the raisins and almonds (or pine nuts, according to what you have on hand) and then add spinach, stir and ready to serve.