Hummus

Serves: 8 at home or 30 tastes in the classroom

Fresh from the garden: garlic, lemon, parsley

Recipe source:  Adapted from Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion

• metric measuring cups & spoons
• scales
• small frying pan
• mortar & pestle
• large saucepan
• blender
• spatula
• serving plates

• 200 g chickpeas, soaked overnight
• salt
• black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lemon
• handful parsley sprigs
• ¼ cup olive oil

• Set out your equipment and ingredients.
• Cook the chickpeas until very soft and add salt towards the end of the cooking time. Allow to cool a little in the water.
• Dry-fry the cumin over medium-high heat until aromatic, then add to the mortar. Grind with the pestle to a fine powder then add to the blender.
• Transfer the chickpeas to a blender and season with pepper.
• Process, stopping every now and then to gradually add the rest of the ingredients (except the oil and parsley), until you get the taste you like – remember, though, that it should taste a little ‘sharp’.
• Add a little cooking water and blend again to make a soft puree.
• Spoon onto your serving plates, and garnish each one with some torn parsley and a little drizzle of oil.