Baked Hummus
2 Ways
Pastırmalı ve Çam Fıstıklı Humus
A good friend of mine decided to teach me how to cook Antakya style. The first item in Rana’s lesson? Hummus. “You may have cooked hummus before,” she said, ‘But you don’t know how to cook it until you try my mother’s recipe.”
Hummus is a favourite mezze particularly in the South East of Turkey. And there are all sorts of variations: hummus with chilli, hummus with butter, clay-baked hummus – the list goes on. I confess I am a fan of hummus in all its forms. But baked hummus is perhaps one of my favourites. You can prepare well ahead of time, pop it in the oven as guests arrive, and five minutes later everyone thinks you’re amazing. But don’t tell anyone – it’s actually really easy. Just pick one of the suggested toppings below, create, and enjoy!
250g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
¼ cup sesame paste (tahin)
¼ cup plain yogurt
2 lemons, juiced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cumin (kimyon)
¼ cup olive oil
Topping 1:
4 tbsp butter
6 slices pastirma
Topping 2:
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp pine nuts
NOTE: THIS RECIPE REQUIRES PREP THE NIGHT BEFORE
1. Soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain.
2. Place the chickpeas in a large pot, cover with plenty of water and boil for 1 hour. Skim off any scum, then drain.
3. Preheat the oven to 220 C.
4. Place the chickpeas in a food processor, then add the tahin, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt and cumin. Blend for 1 minute.
5. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon, then pour the olive oil on top. Blend again until completely smooth.
6. Spoon the hummus into an oven safe bowl or bowls. Put desired topping on top (see below), then bake on the top rack of your oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately with pull-apart bread for dipping.
TOPPING 1:
Melt the butter in a frypan, add the pastirma and fry very briefly on both sides until fragrant. You don’t want it to brown at all - that will happen in the oven.
Lay the strips of pastirma on top of the prepared hummus. Using a spoon, sprinkle the leftover melted butter over the top. Continue as directed.
TOPPING: 2:
Melt the butter in a frypan, add the pinenuts and stir constantly until fragrant. Remove from heat. Using a spoon, sprinkle the pinenuts on top of the prepared hummus. Spoon the rest of the flavoured butter over the top. Then continue as directed.