I first got to taste hummus during the Greek wedding reception of my very good friend, Nicolette. I was one of her Best Ladies, there were about 10 of us sitting by one side of the altar and another 10 of Best Men at the other side of a Greek Orthodox church, St Sophia Church, in Moscow Road, Bayswater. It was certainly a very interesting wedding ceremony, conducted in Greek by a high priest, who kept disappearing into the doorway which I thought was the altar. He would remain for a few minutes out of sight. a few times. He then walked around the kneeling couple three times, after the veil, chord, candles ceremonies had been done, and declared that Nicolette and hubby were married.
We then proceeded to a Greek restaurant were we had a sumptuous starter of all kinds of grilled meat, flat breads with various dipping, one of which was the hummus. For the mains, I ordered lamb kleptiko which was the softest lamb dish ever – it melted in the mouth. There were also rice in vine leaves, and lovely selection of Greek/Turkish desserts.
As it was a Greek wedding, there was the energetic Greek hopping, leaping, skipping sort of dancing. And of course the ubiquitous plate throwing. There was a very Filipino tradition, I thought, of pinning monies to the Bride’s dress and some to the groom as well, while having their first dance. It was a very happy and full of fun affair.
Anyway I have developed a fondness for hummus and quite lucky that it is fairly easy to make.
Hummus is a classic Middle Eastern dish of pulped lentils with garlic, lemon and spices. It can be served with bread sticks, warm flat breads such as pitta or crudités such as celery, carrots and cucumber.
Hummus Recipe
Hummus RecipeIngredients
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200g/7oz canned chickpeas
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2 tbsp lemon juice or more
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2 garlic cloves, crushed
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1 tsp ground cumin
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100ml/3½fl oz tahini (sesame seed paste) optional
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4 tbsp water
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2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
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1 tsp paprika
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4 rounds of pitta bread
Preparation method
- Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Reserve a few whole chick peas for serving.
- Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, tahini, and water in a food processor, and blend to a creamy purée.
- Add more lemon juice, garlic, cumin or salt to taste. Turn out into a dinner plate, and make smooth with the back of a spoon. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and scatter with the reserved chickpeas.
- Sprinkle with paprika and serve with pita bread, warmed in a moderate oven for three minutes, and cut into quarters.