Garlic Mustard Houmous

​If you've been following my recent foraging posts and recip(ish)es, you may have noticed a lack of onion and garlic in my kitchen. I've never been able to tolerate raw onion or garlic but as I've got older I find alium generally difficult to digest. Leeks, in small quantities is OK and on the rare occasions I'm eating away from home I can tolerate a little, well cooked onion and garlic but on a day to day basis I just don't cook with it. It's unfortunate for me that onion and garlic seem to have made their way as standard into almost every veggie or vegan dish and tragic indeed that one of my all time favourite foodstuffs, that trusty vegan staple that is houmous, is so often 'polluted' with the travesty that is actual raw garlic. Shock horror! I've found that it's perfectly possible to make an entirely satisfying houmous (my houmous has been variously described as 'delicious', 'banging' and 'a triumph') by simply eliminating the garlic... But never let it be said that I'm not up for an experiment... And there's a new kid in the hedgerows!

I'd like to introduce the biennial, native, garlic mustard! An attractive, delicately flowered, broad leaved relative of cabbage,  mustard and watercress amongst others, you can use every part of this pretty plant in the kitchen. While the root can be said to have a horseradishy or wasabi like flavour, the leaves and flowers are great in salads and in cooking as an alternative to garlic. 

Therapeutically, garlic mustard has been used as an antiseptic, for bruises and sores, coughs, colds and according to one text even kidney stones, though thankfully I've never had to try that one! It's the latest foragable to have burst up around Llanrhaeadr anyway so I thought I'd give it a go in some garlic free houmous! Happily, it was a great success and it'll definitely become a regular ingredient in houmous for me during its growing season, which should theoretically get me right through into September!

Here's an approximate guide for how to make delicious, banging, triumphant garlic mustard houmous. It's tasty, nutritious and super quick to make. I know every recipe says that and no, I never make a '30 minute' recipe in half an hour either, but it is simple. Really. Check out the gallery photos for visuals on quantity... And see if you can spot the kitty!

Garlic Mustard Houmous:

Pop a roughly drained tin of chickpeas into your blender jug or a vessel you can use a stick blender in. For 'rustic' houmous and if you've not got a blender, you could in theory use a potato masher, but, no. Get yourself a stick blender, they're great.

Add a couple of generous tablespoons of tahini, about a quarter teaspoon each of ground cumin and smoked paprika, then add freshly ground black pepper and sea or mineral salt to taste.

Glug a good dose of extra virgin olive oil to cover the lot and prepare your garlic mustard; simply snip the leaves and flowers off a ten to twelve stem bunch of the herb, keeping the flowers separate for decorative purposes! Wash and drain the leaves and add them to the vessel along with the juice of a lime (lemon is more traditional, I like lime) and blend the lot until it's smooth. Avoid adding more water if you can, you don't want it too runny!

Et voilà, garlic mustard houmous! Rich, creamy houmous with a garlicy tang, a gentle mustard after-glow and absolutely no alium related indigestion! There shall be much rejoicing! Serve with salad, crackers, fresh bread, crudités, grissini... Or my favourite, a great, big, steaming, hot baked potato! It will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator, but you'll probably eat it all long before that's an issue.

Bon appetit! You'll be making it again, I promise! ​