Hummus Bowls

Directions

To make Easy Hummus

1. Place the chickpeas in a bowl large enough to account for the chickpeas expanding to three times their size. Cover generously with water and stir in the heaped teaspoon of bicarb soda. Set aside to soak for 8–12 hours. Drain and rinse under running water to remove any bicarb residue. Place in a medium pot and cover with lots of cold water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 1-2 hours, until chickpeas squash easily on the side of the pan. The final cooking time will depend on the age of your chickpeas, and I highly recommend cooking more than you need, so you can use them in other recipes throughout the week. If you do this, you’ll need about 1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas to make your hummus.

2. Drain and rinse your prepared chickpeas and place in a high‐powered blender with the remaining ingredients and 2 tablespoons of the chilled water. Blitz until silky smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender and adding additional water if needed.
3. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

To Build A Hummus Bowl

1. Schmear the hummus over the bottom of a serving bowl and pile your cooked and raw ingredients on top. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon, then add pickles, garnishes, cheeses, etc. Garnish with fresh herbs and sumac, and serve with a hunk of sourdough or flatbread on the side.

Summer Hummus Bowl

1. 110 g (4 oz/1/2 cup) Easy hummus

2. 1/2 Lebanese (short) cucumber, sliced 1 handful of cherry tomatoes, halved 2–3 radishes, sliced
3. a few pitted olives
4. 1 small handful of rocket (arugula) or baby spinach
5. 30 g (1 oz) feta, crumbled
6. 1 boiled egg, peeled and halved

Winter Hummus Bowl

1. 110 g (4 oz/1/2 cup) Easy hummus

2. 1 cup assorted roasted root veggies 1–2 slabs fried haloumi

3. 1 small handful of rocket (arugula) or baby spinach

Big Breakfast Hummus Bowl

1. 110 g (4 oz/1/2 cup) Easy hummus

2. extra‐virgin olive oil, for frying 200 g (7 oz) tinned cannellini or butter (lima) beans

3. 1/2 garlic clove, minced

4. 3‐4 large leaves of spinach or kale, washed and roughly chopped

5. 1 egg

6. chilli oil or sambal oelek, seeds, fresh herbs and sourdough, to serve
7. Heat a lick of oil in the bottom of a pan. Add beans and allow to sit, untouched, for about 5 minutes, so they can develop a crispy skin. Add garlic and a big pinch of salt, toss, then push to the side. Add greens and another pinch of salt and cook until wilted. Once these are cooked, pile them onto the hummus, then fry the egg in the same pan and place it on top.
8. Garnish with chilli oil, seeds and fresh herbs, and serve with a hunk of sourdough or flatbread.