HOMEMADE HUMMUS WITH HERBS

To cook dried chickpeas

Soak chickpeas in cold water 4 hours or overnight. Put them in a saucepan with the garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and 3 quarts water. Cook until tender. Depending on the freshness of your chickpeas, this can take 30-90 minutes. Drain. Pull out the garlic and discard. * Skip this step if using canned chickpeas.

Make the hummus

Measure out 2 cups (save some of the remaining chickpeas are for garnishing the hummus) and put into a food processor, or add your canned chickpeas instead. Process with the tahini, lemon juice, herbs, olive oil, cumin and 1½ teaspoons salt. 

Puree the mixture at least 3 minutes, dribbling in cold water 2 tablespoons at a time until velvety smooth.

To serve, scoop some hummus onto a shallow bowl or plate and spread it out with the back of a spoon. To garnish, dust with paprika, drizzle with olive oil, and top with some chickpeas and a few herb sprigs.