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Poichichade - Provençal Chickpea Spread or Hummus

Provençal recipe for Poichichade, or garlic chickpea spread - the French answer to hummus. Serve with thinly sliced toasts of crusty baguette, a selection of raw vegetable sticks or crudités and with a chilled rosé, makes the perfect apéritif at any time of year.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 506 kcal
Course: Snacks
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

  • 200 g (7oz/ 1 cup) dried chickpeas or 2 x 400g tins drained @ 250g each
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 4 cloves garlic (or 2 raw cloves if using tinned)
  • 1 lemon, juice only
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Leave the dried chickpeas to soak overnight in water. (If using tinned, then go straight to the last instruction, adding just 2 cloves of fresh garlic.)
  2. Next day, sieve and rinse well. Transfer them to a heavy based pan. Add enough water just to cover the chickpeas and add a teaspoon of  bicarbonate of soda (this makes them easy to digest). Add 3 large cloves of garlic and the bay leaf. Cover and cook for an hour over a low-medium heat. After the first 10 minutes, skim off any impurities that rise to the top.
  3. When cooked, drain the chickpeas and garlic, discard the bay leaf and keep some of the cooking water. Leave to cool for 20 minutes.Once cool, rub the chickpeas with your hands to discard any loose skins to make extra creamy.
  4. Mix the chickpeas with the little cooking water using a hand blender or mixer with the rest of the ingredients (adding the extra clove of garlic - or even more to your taste but beware - could be potent!). Dribbling in the olive oil gradually until you have a good dipping consistency and add more cooking water as needed. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Notes

  • To serve: spoon into a bowl and drizzle with more olive oil.  Add some sesame seeds, smoked paprika or fresh parsley.  Serve with thin slices of toasted baguette and raw vegetables or crudités: radishes, raw cauliflower florets, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks. 
  • Nutritional % Daily Value per serving: 20% carbohydrate; 44% fibre; 15.4g protein; 35% total fat; 0% cholesterol.