While we sip on a freshly brewed mint tea, Ofer shows me how to prepare a Mediterranean Classic and his absolute favorite: Hummus!

Hummus is among the most versatile recipes one can play with! It’s a perfect dish to cook when feeling on the edge with anarchy,  when the mood is to artistry and the mind is wanting to escape the constraints of rigid cookery! It’s thanks to this combination with sesame paste that the hummus turns to a beautiful ivory and gets its flavour! Once the base is in place, then the chef’s imagination is the only limit!

“You know, If there was one thing I would take to a deserted island it’s Hummus!”

As we are preparing the dish, Ofer recalls walking the sinuous streets of his childhood at the yearly book fares; the smell of the piping hot chickpeas seasoned with ground cumin and sea salt and served from a paper cone was intoxicating. As he begs his mother to buy him one, the steam is rising up in the air almost like a fragrant echo to the call of the salesman!

As for me, I’m hypnotized by the Hummus spins into a creamy perfection and all I can think of is the chewy rye Laffa bread awaiting its delicious fate. Hummus’ one and true love is bread, in all forms, texture, and shape. The comforting smell of rising dough with the soft embrace of the luscious chickpeas and tahini blend.

Ingredients: 

•  3 cups of cooked* and drained chickpeas (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
• 0.5 cup of Raw Tahini paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste.
• 3.5 tablespoon of olive oil (less olive oil if you like your Hummus more “grainy”)
• 1/2 Teaspoon of ground cumin
• 0.5 -1 dl of the leftover cooking water – to be added gradually till is solid as you like
• Half a lemon juice

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth:  Remember that tahini thickens in the process, so don’t be afraid to add water until your reached a texture you are happy with
• Optional: 1 Clove of garlic or more if you like it   half a teaspoon of Lemon Pepper (i.e Sitruunapippuri
• Optional: Thinly sliced red onion
• Tip: Add the liquid gradually until you feel the texture is right

For the garnish:

Per serving: 1 Tablespoon of Pine seeds & flat leaves parsley. Place  the pine seeds on a pan at medium heat and move continuously to roast until golden! No need to add oil as the seeds will release their natural oils once they heat. As soon as they are ready transfer them to another dish so that they stop cooking! Chop finely the parsley. Place the Humus is a deep serving dish, sprinkles the roasted pine seeds on top, add the reserved chickpeas, then add the chopped parsley and drizzle with some olive oil. Sprinkle some paprikas for finish.

In the simplest things there can be grand feasts, and once again this perfect lunch of rye Laffa and Hummus is no exception!

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*Before you cook the chickpeas, don’t forget to soak them overnight, it will reduce the cooking time by half! Another great trick to get the creamiest Hummus is to soak the chickpeas overnight with 1 teaspoon of baking soda- then rinse. When it’s time to cook, cover the chickpeas with water until about 3 centimetres above and add another teaspoon of baking soda – bring to a strong boil, and you will start to see it foam and skin peeling off – skim it off and reduce to a medium simmer – until really soft ( depending on the volume it can take up between 1 to 2 hours, don’t worry about overcooking them, as the most important is that they are really soft) – then drain the water and prepare as in the original recipe.