Drain a 400g can of chickpeas (250g drained), setting aside the chickpea liquid in a jar in the fridge to cool.

Optional step 1: Place the peeled chickpeas in a small pot and cover with water (to about 2cm above the chickpeas). Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes. Drain.

Optional step 2: Peel (!) the chickpeas, by pinching the pointy end (the pointy end should face down). Don’t skip this step if you want really fluffy hummus.

In a food processor, blitz 2 garlic cloves. Add the chickpeas and blitz until clumps form, scraping down the sides. Add 125ml (½ cup) tahini paste, the juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp lemon juice), and 1 tsp salt and blitz again. 

With the machine running, start dribbling in the reserved chilled chickpea water, 1tbs at a time, until you get a very light and creamy texture (around 60-80ml).

Taste and adjust as required with more salt or lemon.

Transfer the hummus to a bowl and rest in the fridge for  30 minutes. To serve, drizzle with a little olive oil, and sprinkle it with paprika, sumac, nigella seeds or za’atar. Serve it with pita wedges and carrot sticks.