Stuffed Crustie: Opening Post

Well if you've come to this blog via Greensheen Blogger you'll no doubt have a good idea of what I'm about: Greener Living, Fair Trade, Healthy Lifestyle etc. This blog will be dedicated to much of the same, but with focus on all things foodie. As I've said many times in the past, I don't want to preach, rather show what I'm doing in my own home life and hope that this gives people a few ideas. Therefore I'll not be condemning anyone for the choices they make and I'll be leaving myself open to new things.

For the most part, posts will involve lots of healthy recipes filled with plenty of fruit and veg, but not without the occasional treat. There will be tips for children and families, for those living on a budget, product review, cooking skills/methods/techniques, in addition to discussions about the best ways to reduce waste and packaging.

So to get things started I'd like to champion my favourite home made snack, the mighty Houmous (or however you like to spell it), with a few of my personal twists:

Houmous Basic Recipe:

One 400g tin of chick peas or equivalent in soaked and cooked dried chick peas (drained and rinsed)
Juice of half a lemon
One small bulb of roast garlic (oven roast in foil for aprox 20min-30 mins on around 200C, then squeeze out)
If you haven't got time for roast garlic 2-3 medium sized crushed cloves will do.
Around 75ml-100ml of Tahini - measuring out Tahini can be a bit dodgy as it sticks to the measuring receptacle something rotten, and you have to scrape it out, loosing a wee bit in the process. Once you've done this a few times though you can pretty much estimate how much this is. Amount may vary depending on type of Tahini used. Again, this comes with practice and constant tasting is recommended.
Cumin, 1/2 to 1 whole teaspoon depending on taste.
Good dessertspoon of extra virgin olive oil. 
Optional paprika or cayenne pepper, to taste. 


Method: Blitz all ingredients in a food processor until desired texture reached. This will be chunkier than store bought Houmous, but can be smoothed further with more oil or some cold water.

Variations: Oven roast sliced onion and balsamic vinegar - Grated root ginger (about a thumbs worth) and extra lemon - olives and tomato puree - chopped tomato and pesto - extra herby or spicy, adding whatever you please, just be sure to taste every so often.

You can also garnish with loads of different things - pine nuts, spiced chick peas, pesto and infused oils. You can really use your culinary imagination in all aspects of this dish, including what you eat it with, from pitta bread to rye crackers and tortilla chips. I remember in one of my student post pub creations, throwing Houmous in with some tagliatelle and a couple of dashes of lime MiWadi.  I survived the night and remember it being quite good, though I've yet to work up the nerve to re-create it sober.

In my opinion the key factor for successful Houmous is the quality of the Tahini. I've tried a few different brands and the best I've come across is Bevelini Tahini, around £2.50 for 300g, it's subtle and makes for a nice smooth mix. Tahini will probably be the most expensive ingredient you buy initially, though the average jar will do for a  few batches. You also pretty much have to have a food processor to make this work.

If placed in a lidded container this will keep for a few days in the fridge, adding a little oil to the top will make it nicer to eat as it can dry out a little. Having said that we very rarely have any left over to refrigerate.


Nutritional Info:  High in iron and Vitamin C. Good source of fibre and when eaten with bread, provides a complete protein. Also good source of amino acid. This homemade version contains no added salt.