This thick, creamy houmous is packed with flavour, and contains a whole bulb of slowly roasted garlic. It's a delicious way of keeping vampires at bay! But seriously, it might sound like a lot of garlic, but roasting takes all the harsh bite out of it. Giving the garlic a smoky, slightly sweet, milder garlic flavour, and a soft spreadable texture. You can use this houmous as a dip, spread it onto sandwiches, eat it with salads, or thin it down and use it as a salad dressing

I used dried chickpeas for this, but I'll include how you can make this with tinned chickpeas too

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Cook time (if using dried chickpeas); One hour 15 minutes Cook time (if using tinned chickpeas); 40 minutes

You'll need;

  1. 125g dried chickpeas
  2. Plenty of water for soaking
  3. One bulb of garlic
  4. One teaspoon of oil
  5. A pinch of salt, plus extra for seasoning the houmous
  6. One tablespoon of tahini
  7. One tablespoon of lemon juice

If you're using tinned chickpeas, you can skip the first two items in the list. Instead you'll need one 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. Then the rest of the ingredients will be the same as the ones listed above

Method;

  • Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water for 12 hours. I soak mine overnight usually. Once they've plumped up, drain the water away and give them a good rinse
  • Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the chickpeas, then boil for 15 minutes. Next, reduce the heat to a simmer, pop a lid on and give the chickpeas another hour or so to cook until they're tender. If you're using tinned chickpeas just skip these first two bullet points
  • Slice the top off the bulb of garlic and peel away the loose skin on the outside. Place it onto a piece of foil, then add the oil and salt
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  • Wrap the garlic up pop it into the oven at 200ºC/180ºC fan assisted for 30-40 minutes, or until it becomes golden and caramelisedDSC_2256-picsayfff
  • Into a blender or food processor, add the chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice. Then either squeeze out the garlic, or use a fork to pick the cloves out, add them in with the chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients
  • I don't add additional oil to my houmous, I just add a splash of water and then blend it until it's creamy and smooth. You may have to pause a few times to scrape down the sides

Store your houmous in an airtight container in the fridge, it should last for around four days. If you want to keep the houmous for longer, you can store it in the freezer

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