First make tahini, then use that to make two variations of hummus.

This recipe accompanies this column.

Tahini

100g white sesame seeds

Olive oil as needed, most likely 4 Tbsp/ 60 ml

1 tsp sesame oil, or a little less, but not more

Toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan on a low heat, shaking the pan frequently and tossing to turn the seeds, until the seeds turn a pale golden. Don’t let the pan smoke as it would spoil the seeds, turning them acrid.

Grind the seeds, then add 1 Tbsp olive oil while blending, adding more olive oil until you have a nice creamy consistency. Salt very lightly if you like.

Roasted Carrot Hummus

Ingredients

1 x 400 g chickpeas, drained and rinsed

450 g carrots

4 large garlic cloves, chopped finely or minced

1 tsp cumin seeds

60 ml/ 4 Tbsp olive oil

60 ml/ 4 Tbsp lemon juice

½ cup/ 120 g tahini

1 or 2 additional Tbsps olive oil for dressing

Parsley, or ground cumin, or paprika, for dressing

(Or use toasted sesame seeds and/ or toasted pine nuts)

Water as required

Method

Note that canned chickpeas are already cooked so you do not need to boil them first. 

Peel the carrots and roast in a 220℃ oven for 30 minutes with toasted cumin seeds scattered on them. Cool. Blitz them in a food processor until smooth.

Whizz the chickpeas with 60 ml olive oil, then stir into the puréed carrots. Add 2 Tbsp water, the lemon juice, the garlic and tahini and continue to blend until completely smooth. If it’s too thick for your liking, add a little more water and blend a bit more.

Spoon the carrot hummus onto a presentation plate and draw the round side of a dessert spoon around it three or four times to create a classic swirl. Drizzle a little more olive oil over it so that it collects in the troughs created by your swirling expertise.

Garnish it with chopped parsley or a few shakes of paprika or ground cumin, or a combination of any of those. Or toast some pine nuts and scatter them over.

Roasted Beetroot hummus

The same ingredients as for roasted carrot hummus, but with 450 g roasted beetroot instead of the carrots, roasted in the same way. Other than that, follow the recipe as for carrot hummus. DM/TGIFood

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Champion of the Year 2021. His book, foodSTUFF, is now available in the DM Shop. Buy it here.

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