Hummus. Yet another middle-eastern dip.

This may sound a bit silly, but the first time I tasted hummus was in New Zealand. The reasons for this: My co-worker was vegan and loved it. And it was available in the supermarket in dozens of varieties. From plain to lime & jalapeño to sun-dried tomato. With Turkish salsa was my favorite. It was great just sitting on the Auckland pier at lunchtime and having a little pick-nick with hummus and a fresh bread.



When my husband and I returned to Germany, we still had the craving for hummus, but it was nowhere to be found in supermarkets around here. Luckily, hummus is incredibly easy to make.


HUMMUS

1 (400 g / 14 oz) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 lemon, juice only
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon harissa
1/2 teaspoon ras-el-hanout (seasoning for cous-cous)
1 teaspoon tahini



Open the can (haha), drain the chickpeas and put them in a high mixing bowl. Unless you have a food processor, then put them in the mixing bowl of your food processor. But have an immersion blender so I use the highest vessel I can find in my kitchen.


Add the rest of the ingredients and then stick the blender in (or hit "go" on your food processor). Blend it as long as you want, you can make it light and fluffy or - if you're like me - leave some bits and pieces for an more interesting structure.


Done! But wait, this looks a bit boring. Let's make a little topping:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon ground paprika


Heat up the oil and the paprika powder in a point just until it starts to bubble and starts to smell intensively like paprika.


Pour the hot oil over the hummus and enjoy the taste.