Best Thursday Island Nummus Recipes

THURSDAY ISLAND NUMMUS

Steps:

• Place the fish in a mixing bowl and pour about half a cup of vinegar over it.
• Gently knead the fish until it starts to"cook"; adding more vinegar if necessary.
• After a couple of minutes add half the lime of lemon juice and continue to kneadfor another minute.
• Add the salt and continue to knead until fish feels cooked (a minute or two should be enough).
• Add sugar, chilli, garlic, ginger, onion, and mix well.
• Add more juice and chilli if required.
• This dish can be eaten straight away but storing for several hours or overnight if you have the willpower (in the refrigerator) will enhance the flavours.

BASIC HUMMUS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the garlic in olive oil for approximately 3 minutes, until tender.
• Place garbanzo beans in a blender or food processor with approximately 1 teaspoon reserved liquid. Process until smooth. Mix in the garlic, sesame seeds, salt and pepper. Blend to desired consistency, increasing the amount of reserved garbanzo bean liquid as desired. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

CLASSIC HUMMUS WITH FRIED CHICKPEAS AND PARSLEY OIL

Steps:

• Cover the chickpeas with 4 cups water in a large pot with 1 teaspoon baking soda and refrigerate 8 hours or up to overnight to soak.
• Strain the chickpeas and discard the soaking liquid. Rinse the chickpeas and return them to the pot. Add the remaining teaspoon baking soda and water to cover by about 3 inches over the chickpeas. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, skimming off and discarding any foam that rises to the surface. Cook the chickpeas until tender but still hold their shape, about 30 minutes. Remove 1 cup of chickpeas from the pot with a slotted spoon. Drain well and reserve on a paper towel-lined plate to dry. Continue cooking the remaining chickpeas until they are mostly intact and soft and creamy (not crumbly) when pressed between a thumb and forefinger, about 10 minutes more. If the liquid boils off too much while cooking, add more water to cover and continue to cook.
• Meanwhile, make the parsley oil. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the parsley leaves and cook 10 seconds, then drain. Immediately run the parsley under very cold water to cool it completely, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Squeeze out the excess liquid and then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to dry.
• When the chickpeas are done cooking, strain them and discard the liquid. Let the chickpeas sit in the strainer to drain and dry out for 5 minutes. Put the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor along with the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt and process until the mixture is a paste, scraping down the bowl as necessary. With the motor running, slowly pour in 1/4 cup of the ice water and continue to process, adding more water by the tablespoon as necessary, until the mixture is smooth and light, about 5 minutes. The hummus should be slightly loose because it will firm up as it sits.
• Transfer the hummus to a shallow bowl and cover by lightly pressing plastic wrap directly onto the surface; set aside until ready to serve. (The hummus can also be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.)
• Put the cooked parsley leaves in a blender along with 1/2 cup olive oil and puree until the parsley is fine and the oil green, about 5 minutes. Transfer the parsley oil to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface. Parsley oil can be used right away, or held at room temperature up to 6 hours
• Just before serving, fry the chickpeas. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Pat the reserved chickpeas dry with a clean towel and carefully add them to the skillet. (The oil will bubble up for a few seconds.) Fry, shaking the pan occasionally, until browned and crisp, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer the chickpeas to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Immediately sprinkle with the lemon zest, cayenne, cumin and some salt; toss to coat.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the reserved hummus. Make a shallow circular indentation with the back of a spoon in the center of the hummus. Mound the fried chickpeas in the center of the hummus. Drizzle with the parsley oil, spooning most of it around the edges of the hummus.

HUMMUS

Steps:

• Put the chickpeas, tahini, cumin or paprika, oil, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor, sprinkle with salt and pepper and begin to process; add chickpea-cooking liquid or water as needed to produce a smooth purée.
• Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed. Serve, drizzled with some olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of cumin or paprika and some parsley.

THE BEST HUMMUS

Steps:

• Drain the chickpeas in a medium mesh sieve, reserving the liquid. Reserve about 7 chickpeas for garnish.
• Process the tahini, garlic and cumin in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in 2/3 cup of the reserved chickpea liquid (if you don't have exactly 2/3 cup, add water until the total amount is 2/3 cup) and process until light and very creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. The mixture will appear broken at first but will come together after all the liquid is added and has been processed for a minute or two.
• Add the chickpeas, the lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the tahini mixture. Process until the mixture is extremely smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally, about 4 minutes. Thin with more water if you prefer a looser consistency. Taste and season with more salt, lemon juice or cumin as desired.
• Spoon the hummus into a shallow bowl, making a well in the center, and drizzle liberally with oil. Top with the reserved chickpeas and sprinkle with paprika. Serve with pita bread, pita chips or cut raw vegetables.

REAL HUMMUS

Steps:

• In a blender, chop garlic. Pour garbanzo beans into the blender, reserving about 1 tablespoon for garnish. Add reserved liquid, lemon juice, tahini, and salt to the blender. Blend until creamy and well mixed.
• Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Sprinkle with pepper and pour olive oil over the top. Garnish with reserved garbanzo beans.