Curried Hummus

Summer is a good time to have a WholeFoods salad mini bar in your fridge: friends come by for a glass of wine and a few tapas plates, lunch and dinner can be arranged without cooking. I have been in the kitchen a lot lately, making dolmades, tomato feta muffins, jam, kale chips with kale from the garden, black bean dip, drying chamomile flowers and catnip… and today I made a batch of curried hummus.

I first had this hummus at the Orono farmers market. They also offer a great hummus with garlic scapes, which I love. My own version of the curried hummus turned out great. It is a basic hummus recipe but with curry powder and a touch of sweetness with maple syrup.

Curried hummus

• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked for 45min with a bay leaf and 3 small garlic cloves (instructions see below)
• 1 TB garlic flavored (or plain) extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 ts salt and some fresh ground pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and microplaned
• 1 1/2 TB tahini (sesame butter)
• 1/2 TB curry powder
• 1 TB maple syrup
• ca 1/4 of chickpea cooking liquid (or water if using canned chickpeas)

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Start with half of the cooking liquid and add according to the consistency of the hummus you like. I used the still warm chickpeas and it makes an extra fluffy hummus.

Cooking dried chickpeas:

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
• 2-3 cups of water
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves garlic

Soak the chickpeas overnight in a container that is about 4 times as large as the space taken up by the dried chickpeas. They expand significantly when they are soaking for over 12h. Once soaked, rinse and place in a pot.

Cook in 1 1/2 cups of water and add a fresh or dried bay leaf and 2 peeled garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer on low for about 45min (or until soft). Preserve cooking liquid.