Can I Use Canned Chick Peas For Sunshine Hummus?

Our answer

Nigella's Sunshine Hummus is a hummus that is given golden warmth, both in colour and in flavour, by the addition of turmeric. It is perfect as a dip, but equally good spread into a sandwich or stuffed into a pita or flatbread. Nigella suggests using chickpeas drained from a jar, as they tend to be soft and easy to blend. Canned chickpeas can have a firmer and slightly more pebbly texture, which make it a bit more difficult to get a truly smooth texture.

However, Nigella mentions in her introduction to the recipe that the hummus can of course be made with canned chickpeas. You are likely to need two 400g (15-ounce) cans and you may need most of the aquafaba liquid in the cans to help to get a smooth texture for the hummus. Nigella uses canned chickpeas in her Red Pepper Hummus and Peanut Butter Hummus. It is also fairly easy to cook your own chickpeas and these often make the best hummus as you can cook the chickpeas until they are very soft. Cover 300g (1⅔ cups) chickpeas with plenty of cold water, add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and leave to stand overnight. The next day, drain the chickpeas, put in a saucepan and cover generously with fresh water. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until you can easily squish a chickpea with your fingers. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and use to make the hummus.