Toasted Hummus

Well, toasted is taking it a bit far, but several of the components have been toasted so I think the name is justified!  Also, there is a little more texture than regular hummus.  It is simply hummus made the usual way (which for me is a tin of well-rinsed and drained East End chickpeas, 2 tablespoons of tahini paste, a peeled garlic clove, a teaspoon of ground cumin, the juice of half a lemon, about 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of boiling water, blitzed in a processor).  After blending, I stir in 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil, a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds and 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped.  Add salt and pepper to taste, spoon into a bowl, drizzle over more olive oil, sprinkle over some more sesame seeds and pine nuts and some paprika, and tuck in with toasted pitta breads.  We'll have the remainder in a sandwich tomorrow with grated carrot and lots of salad.  Yum!

Steamed Pak Choi with Sesame and Soy [#230]

Scarcely a recipe, yet I wouldn't have tried it this way if I hadn't come across it in Ching-He Huang's book. You simply steam pak choi, halved if large, for a couple of minutes, remove to a warm plate and drizzle the hot, vividly green veg with toasted sesame oil and light soy. Please be very delicate with both these, you need just a few drops of each sprinkled over the steaming hot vegetables, as too much overwhelms. But, with the right amount of judicious seasoning, this is a delicacy, and flatters the flavour and texture of this vegetable much better than stir-frying, in my opinion.