Appetiser

Hummus

Paul Lynch
I prefer my hummus smooth, with a definite taste of tahini (as well as lemon and olive oil). This recipe was loosely based on one from Serious Eats. 225g dried chickpeas (you can switch for 2 x 400g cans of chickpeas simmered with the vegetables, in place of the cooked ones, but the dried ones are a lot better) 2 teaspoons (12g) baking soda 24g salt 1 small onion 1 small stalk celery 1 small carrot 2 medium cloves garlic 2 bay leaves 350ml Tahini Sauce With Garlic and Lemon (see below) Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving Za’atar, paprika, warmed whole chickpeas, and/or chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving Soak the chickpeas overnight with 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp salt.

Hummus

Paul Lynch
1 can chick peas 1 clove garlic 60ml/4 tbs tahini juice of half a lemon 1/2 tsp salt This really needs a blender. Drain the chick peas, put all the ingredients into the blender, and blend to a smooth paste. Season to taste. Add some water or reserved cooking liquid to adjust the texture. The details: you can used dried chick peas; they will need to be soaked overnight and cooked for anywhere from 40 minutes up, but probably closer to 90, depending mainly on the age of the beans.

Risotto

Paul Lynch
1 litre chicken stock 60g unsalted butter (2 oz) 1 small onion/shallot, finely chopped 300g risotto rice (10.5 oz) 50g / 2 oz grated parmesan Heat the stock in a pan, with a ladle ready. Melt 30g/1 oz butter, and cook the onion to transparent (5 mins), over a low heat so that it doesn’t burn. Add the rice, and cook for a couple of minutes until it changes colour/transparency.