Hummus bi Tahini

Ingredients

• 250g dried chickpeas
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 180g light tahini, well stirred
• 80ml lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 80-120ml ice water
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp sumac
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Warm pita bread, to serve

Before you cook

• Cover the chickpeas with plenty of cold water and half the bicarbonate of soda and leave them to soak overnight, or at least 12 hours.
• Drain the soaked chickpeas and rinse them well.
• Peel the garlic cloves and squeeze the lemons.
• Fill a small jug with water and ice cubes.

Steps

1. Put the drained chickpeas in a large pot with the remaining half teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and stir them over medium heat for three minutes until they smell toasty.
2. Pour in cold water to cover the chickpeas by about eight centimetres and bring the pot to a boil.
3. Skim off the grey foam and the loose skins that rise to the surface with a slotted spoon.
4. Lower the heat and simmer the chickpeas uncovered for fifty to seventy minutes, topping up with hot water if they ever poke above the surface.
5. Test a chickpea by squashing it between your finger and thumb; it should collapse into paste with no resistance at all, so keep simmering if it does not.
6. Drain the chickpeas and reserve a cup of the cooking liquid.
7. Set aside three tablespoons of whole chickpeas for the garnish.
8. Tip the rest of the hot chickpeas into a food processor with the garlic, salt and lemon juice, and blend for two minutes until completely smooth.
9. Add the tahini and blend for another minute.
10. With the motor running, trickle in the ice water a little at a time until the hummus turns noticeably paler and holds a soft ribbon on the blade.
11. Taste and adjust with more salt or lemon juice, remembering that hummus tastes flatter once it cools.
12. Spread the hummus onto a wide plate and swipe a hollow through the middle with the back of a spoon.
13. Pool the olive oil in the hollow, scatter over the reserved chickpeas, sumac and parsley, and serve while still faintly warm with pita.