Turkish Golden Houmous

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and washed
• 3-4 tbsp of good quality olive oil
• The juice of 1 or 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons of tahini
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• ½ tsp of ground turmeric
• 1 tsp of Niki’s Turkish Blend
• Pinch of saffron threads
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste
• ¼ tsp of smoked paprika

For the salad:

• A small handful of black olives
• 1-2 radishes, sliced finely
• A small handful of tricolour tomatoes, sliced
• ½ a cucumber, diced finely
• A small scattering of freshly chopped parsley
• ½ a red onion, finely sliced
• A squeeze of lemon and glug of extra virgin olive oil  
• Edible flowers, for garnish

Method:

1. Place the chickpeas in a high-powered food processor along with your olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and all the spices apart from Niki’s Turkish Blend and blend thoroughly. Add the sea salt and pepper to taste.
2. Once you are happy with the consistency (you are looking for a smooth paste like consistency) and flavour of the houmous tip out and smooth your houmous onto a shallow plate and create some crease, ready for your salad.
3. For the salad prep simply pop all your salad ingredients into a mixing bowl and give it all a good mix, taste for seasoning and serve the salad across the edge of the houmous.
4. Finally, finish off your Turkish golden houmous with a generous sprinkling of Niki’s Turkish Blend, a glug of extra virgin olive oil and edible flowers. Afiyet Olsun!