Ask any middle eastern chef what is the secret to the best hummus, and they will tell you one that is smooth, creamy and with a light, delicate texture.
This month Food Thinkers went to Surry Hills in Sydney to find a cafe on Crown St called Cafe Mint. There we met Hugh Foster, chef and owner. Here he shared with us one of his dishes that he put on the menu when he first opened his doors over 10 years ago and it hasn't been removed since!
The kitchen is so small at Cafe Mint and it was a squeeze to get our film crew in, but what we were amazed by, was the amount of incredible dishes that come out of the kitchen for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What was also a lovely surprise was to find that when we asked him what he uses to make his creamy hummus, he already had the Breville Kitchen Wizz Pro!
The dish that Hugh made was a combination of incredible flavours that only Middle Eastern cooking can combine so well. First there was the creamy hummus, which Hugh points out that the secret is warm freshly cooked chickpeas and a really good processor to break down the chickpeas easily. Then he made a spicy lamb mince that goes with the hummus made with incredible spices such as maras pepper, allspice, Baharat - a blend of lebanese spices and finished with pomegranate molasses. Then he tops off the dish with caramelised onions cooked with pomegranate molasses and turkish bread toasted and brushed with oilve oil and another wonderful middle eastern spice blend called za'atar.
Enjoy watching the video of Hugh from Cafe Mint and we hope you make it too but if you decide to have Hugh cook it for you make sure you say hi from us! Personally we think you might do both once you see how easy it is to make! Enjoy!
To watch Hugh make his recipe click here
To get the recipe click here