Ingredients
2cups (1 ¼ pound) of dried chick peas ( garbanzo beans)
1 tablespoon of baking soda
¼ cup of tahini (sesame paste)
2 to 3 lemon juiced
¼ cup very cold icy water if needed
Salt
Olive oil for garnish
Sort through the chickpeas before you boil them to remove any disfigured or bad chickpeas.
Soak the dried chickpeas overnight with a lot of water (cover them completely, use twice the amount of water vs. the volume of chickpeas).
The next day, rinse the chickpeas well with cold water.
Fill a big (8 quart) pot with plenty of water, using the same amount as when you soaked them. Add the baking soda, and bring to the boil.
When the water is boiling turn the heat down and simmer until the chickpeas are cooked, 60 to 90 minutes. Remove froth with a skimmer as needed.
To test for doneness remove one chick pea with a spoon and smash between thumb and index finger if its tender its done!
Take the pot off the heat and put it under the cold water tap. The cold water will shock the skins into cracking so that they will easily come off and float to the surface. In order to allow them to float up you need to gently stir the chickpeas and as the skins surface remove them with a slotted spoon. Keep stirring a little and removing the skins that surface until you’ve removed most skins.
Now strain the chickpeas and leave them in a colander to drain.
Place the tahini and lemon juice in the food processor add the chickpeas mix until you have a smooth paste, but still a little firm. If it’s too thick add little by little the icy cold water. Finally add salt to taste.
Serve with olive oil and pita bread.
Serves 4 to 6 people
