Hummus

Chickpeas are really easy to grow and are so cool! The leaves are tiny and covered in fine hairs that, even in drought conditions, capture moisture from the air so that if you touch them, your hand comes away wet. Each pod only contains 2 chickpeas but there are lots per plant. Apparently, we can also grow sesame for seeds on the West Coast, but the plants need a long growing period so have to be started indoors - and they prefer poor soil! I still have to do this successfully but it means I can cook with sesame if I want to cook what can be produced locally. And hummus is such a delicious, simple source of protein and calories.

1½ cups chickpeas, cooked (285g) (½ cup dried) 

½ cup + cooking liquid (save chickpea cooking water known as aquafaba)

3 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 2 lemons (2 to 3 Tbsps.)

½ cup (130g) Tahini

¼ cup (50g) olive oil

1 tsp salt

Black pepper, to taste

1. The day before, put the chickpeas in plenty of water and bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Allow to soak overnight.
2. Next day, cook until soft, about an hour.
3. Drain and keep ½ cup of cooking liquid.
4. Dump all the ingredients in a food processor and run until it becomes a smooth-ish paste. Add a little more cooking water if it's too thick.
5. With a spatula scrape down the sides and process again to get any bits that may not have gone through.
6. Taste to correct the seasonings.