When the weather get's warmer I like to do away with big meals and have lots of light things in the fridge that can be part of a selection of small plates, compliment each other, and can be made in batches to limit evenings spent in the kitchen instead of on the deck with a glass of wine in hand!
Hummus is a classic dip, is so easy to make and, once you've invested in a bottle of olive oil and a bottle of sesame oil, incredibly cheap to make.
Traditionally hummus is made with tahini, a paste made from ground sesame seeds. I was making hummus a couple of years back and had run out of tahini and so sploshed in some sesame oil in its place.... and have never bought tahini again.
Sesame oil lasts forever (pretty much), doesn't need to be refrigerated and I prefer the flavour, which isn't as bitter as tahini can be. It also saves you having to buy another ingredient as sesame oil can do double duty in your hummus as well as in your noodles, stir fry or salad dressing!
The addition of peas and fresh mint, apart from the jazzy colour, freshens up the hummus and makes it lighter with a great herby, zing. Perfect for summer.
Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas
1 'can' of frozen peas, thawed (use the empty chickpea can to measure them out)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
large bunch of mint, as much as will fit in your grip
salt and pepper
Method:
Drain your chickpeas and use the empty can to measure out the same amount of frozen peas. Thaw quickly in a sieve, under cold running water for a few minutes. Darin all the water from the peas, give them a little jiggle in the sieve to free up any hidden droplets.
Leave the chick and regular peas in the sieve to dry, whilst you whizz up your garlic cloves and oil in the blender until well chopped. Add you sesame oil and lemon juice now as well, so that they will be well mixed in amongst the finish hummus.
Tumble all the peas into the blender along with the mint and whizz until smooth and bright, bright green.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve with a little fresh chopped mint.
This is lovely with some salty, wholemeal cracker and some thinly slice prosciutto draped on top!