Hummus

225 g/8 oz chick peas, soaked in cold water
overnight and drained
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
juice of °F lemon
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons polyunsaturated vegetable oil
300 ml/1/2 pint plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seed
salt
Garnish:
chopped parsley
black olives

Put the chick peas into a pan and cover with fresh water. Add the onion and bay leaf, then bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 1 to 11/2 hours. or until the chick peas are tender. Drain thoroughly, then remove the bay leaf.

Puree the peas and onion and mix in the lemon juice, garlic, oil, yogurt and cumin to make a fairly soft consistency. Season with salt.

Chill the hummus thoroughly, then garnish with parsley and black olives and serve with warm wholemeal pitta bread.

SERVES 8 to 10