my hummus is bland - why?

[iota]

made hummus for the first time today and am disappointed. It's too bland.

I made it with a can of chickpeas, drained, 2 x large dollops of tahini, 1 x teasp cumin, 3 x garlic cloves juice of 2 x lemons and a little olive oil.

have just added a roasted pepper to perk it up, but still need more oooomp.

More garlic?
or more cumin?

[iota]

am now having a beer - thanks all for your suggestions

[Tinker]

When I've madet it was pretty crap. Boyfriend made it with a lot less tahini (or was it more??) and it was much better

[iota]

and for those of you who care about my hummus:

I had a go at the second half of it today - mixed in loads of chilli sauce - made it slightly more palatable, but not very Greek-like.

dh washed it down the sink, so it's now polluting the local drainage system.

[basketcase]

smoked paprika is fab in hummous, some in the mixture and a lttle on the top with a swirl of decent olive oil.
Also, can be nice if you reserve some of the chickpeas (handful) to the end and mash with a fork then put into the smoother mixture - the added texture is yummy. Don?t forget the salt and pepper - I know salt is not good for you but a little bit of salt nd a good amount of fresh ground pepper is great.
Try dry roasting your cumin seeds first as well - brings out the flavour.
HTH

(I LOVE hummous)

[RTMTMML]

never mind iota. I did wonder what happened. [wry smile emoticon]

[Prufrock]

Lots less tahini, and more oliveoil, and it is essential to use a really zingy/peppery extra virgin oil. WWW I do Nigella's tip of greek yoghurt, and find it means you can have the extra oil without making it too greasy. And I have to say mine always tastes much beter when I can be bothered to soak and cook my own chick peas instead of using a tin

[iota]

cook my own chickpeas - that's a step too far.

[Prufrock]

Well I didn't say how often mine tasted better . I make a batch at least once a week as dd is a houmous fiend and ds is rapidly becoming her (Did you know it is extrememly difficult to get houmous out of baby hair after you've let it dry for over 5 hours?)