hummus

well thats no way to say goodbye. i dont even like fish. and i dont go fishing. harmonious, still, silent lakes are not place for a child of mtv. gone into hibernation might have been a more appropriate sign off. gone to see about a doctor would have been a more honest representation of reality. and if i were to be completely, boldly, offensively frank, ‘uninspired….gone to watch five series of dr who under a blanket’ would have been the most apt explanation of my absence. but you tugged at my heart strings (smoo, im talking to you) and i couldnt help myself. i realised as i began to re-watch an entire series in the hope of “picking up on things i might have missed the first time round” that there are more important things to be doing and eating. over the past month i was introduced to the world of the chip – hot and cold. and it had such an impact that for a brief moment there, never turning on the oven again became a conceivable possibility. but like all good things, it started to take its toll, first around the hips, then around the heart. besides, chips are very loud. i cant hear the doctor talk with the chip crunching and the bag scrunching and the munching and the bunching and i was missing vital plot developments. so i decided it was time to return because the jagged little chips were tearing a hole in the diaphanous fabric of my reality. and all the while i heard the sweet dulcet tones of the doctor whispering to me “be magnificent”. magnificent was a bit much to ask but i did make some hummus. (yes, into which chips were dipped). i made too much but so it goes. and it was good.

ingredients

500g chickpeas

250g tahini paste

50ml lemon juice

6 garlic cloves crushed

salt

put chickpeas into a food processor (keeping a few aside for end presentational purposes) and add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and some salt. blend until its completely smooth. it should be very soft and verging on runny. taste and add more salt if you think it deserves it. drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. finally tumble some chickpeas atop. or pine nuts. whatever floats your boat. you can serve it with some of your homemade sourdough (unless you went and got so hibernatory that you killed your starter…in which case, chips will do fine.)