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 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. Alternatively, depending on the size of the chickpea, the skins might come off during the cooking, in which case, drain the chickpeas, put back in the pot with cold water, rub the chickpeas between your fingers and then collect the skins as they float to the top.

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, 1 tbsp 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, or za’atar, and then add a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts. Serve with pita wedges and carrot sticks.