make your own... hummus

Instead of buying ready-made hummus from the store, it's really very easy to make your own. Traditional recipes include tahini, or sesame paste, along with garlic, lemon juice and chickpeas. Some recipes use yogurt.

This afternoon, with the aid of a simple food processor, I whipped up a remarkably tasty hummus, even though I had no tahini. Give it a try

quick and yummy homemade hummus
(serves 4)

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cloves of garlic
leaves from 1 stalk of rosemary
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons of fat-free natural yogurt

Combine the first four ingredients in a food processor and chop finely. Should you like an even smoother consistency, try using a blender or a hand blender. Empty the mixture into a bowl, and stir through the yogurt and season. Chill if not eating immediately.

This recipe can be easily amended to include lots of different flavours - coriander, chilli, olives, feta. And it would work remarkably well as part of a mezze.

We munched on carrots, celery, cucumber and radishes with this dip whilst on the couch catching up on Grey's Anatomy. Not bad for a Saturday afternoon really.