Dips and crackers are an easy thing to serve when people drop in – or to take along to a neighbourhood party as your contribution. People seem very impressed when you say you made it yourself and double impressed when you tell them you cooked the chickpeas from scratch.

Being somewhat lazy, we usually use canned chickpeas, but when Diane was making hummus with the children as part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program at Bondi Public School she used dried chickpeas of course.

'I can't believe how nice they were especially with a bay leaf and garlic thrown into the water whilst cooking. There are other benefits too – you can prepare more and freeze them for the next batch of dip for the next party,' says Diane.

Makes about 1½ cups.

1½ cups home-cooked chickpeas or 400g (14oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, chopped roughly
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons light flavoured olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper and salt (if you wish), to season
Lebanese or pita crisps, to serve (recipe follows)

Place 1½ cups cooked chickpeas or the drained can of chickpeas, lemon juice and garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Whiz until very finely chopped, (stop the processor occasionally and scrape down the sides), add oil and process again until creamy.

Spoon into a serving dish and mix in cumin and season with freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt if using.

To cook chickpeas, cover them with water and leave to soak overnight in a bowl. Drain and put in a medium saucepan with 1 clove garlic peeled and smashed garlic, 1 bay leaf and 3 peppercorns (count the peppercorns so you remember to take them all out!). Cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 35 minutes or until they are tender (check the water levels and top-up if necessary). Drain and leave to cool.

To make Lebanese/pita crisps, brush 3 large rounds with oil and sprinkle over black pepper (and any other seasonings you are using). Cut bread in half and then each half into 8–9 wedges. Place on 2 lined trays and bake for 8–10 minutes on 200ºC (400ºF) until crisp, swapping trays halfway during cooking. For different flavours try sprinkling over some chopped rosemary, paprika, Moroccan spice mix, Italian herb mix, dried oregano, sumac or rub garlic over bread before baking.