Meliz Berg's hummus masterclass
Meliz is famous for her Turkish-Cypriot comfort food, after growing up watching her Mum and Aunt cook delicious traditional recipes which she now shares with over 100k Instagram followers.
She's here with a masterclass in taking homemade hummus from mediocre to fabulous with just a few simple ingredients.
Loaded hummus
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 jar of chickpeas, reserving the water (Aquafaba)
1 tsp finely grated garlic
6 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
¾ tsp salt
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice Salad
1 medium-sized Middle Eastern cucumber/ ⅓ English cucumber, seeds removed
1 medium red bell pepper / 1 romano pepper, seeds removed
2 spring onions
25g fresh coriander leaves
100g fresh pomegranate seeds
½ tsp dried mint
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
¼ tsp sea salt flakes
To garnish
Paprika
Sumac
Ground cumin
Pul Biber Flakes
Extra virgin olive oil
50g toasted pine nuts
Reserved chickpeas
Reserved coriander (from the salad)
Method
1. For the hummus, drain the chickpeas, reserving the cooled Aquafaba (chickpea water) before adding the chickpeas to a blender/food processor (set aside a few chickpeas for garnish).
2. Add three tablespoons of the Aquafaba from the can, jar, or cooled boiling juices. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender/food processor and blitz together. If the texture is too thick, add a little more of the Aquafaba or some ice-cold water. Blend again, taste, and add a little more salt or lemon if desired. The mixture should be lovely and smooth.
3. For the salad, finely dice and chop the cucumber, pepper, spring onions, and coriander leaves and mix together with the rest of the ingredients, reserving a few pomegranate seeds and coriander leaves to garnish the hummus with.
4. Dress the salad with olive oil, and pomegranate molasses and season with salt just before serving.
5. Garnish the hummus with the reserved chickpeas, a pinch each of paprika, sumac, pul biber, and cumin, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and top with the salad and reserved coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds, and toasted pine nuts. (The hummus will keep for four days in the fridge - if it lasts that long!)