Humus

• 200 g (7 oz/1 cup) dried chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (to make your own see)
• 1 tablespoon capsicum (pepper) paste (see)
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) olive oil
• ½ teaspoon paprika

Topping

• 1 small cucumber
• ½ small red onion
• ½ red capsicum (pepper)
• 100 g (3½ oz) sucuk (or chorizo)
• 2 slices day-old sandwich bread
• pide bread (to make your own, see), grilled, or pita crisps, to serve

Put the chickpeas in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil over high heat. Boil for 1 minute, and then strain. Put the chickpeas in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda, cover with water and soak overnight.

Strain the chickpeas and rinse under cold running water for 5 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan, cover with plenty of water, and bring to the boil over medium heat. Cook for 1½ hours until the chickpeas are soft enough to mash with your fingers. Put the cooked chickpeas in a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. Finely crush the garlic and stir into the chickpea paste. Add the lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, capsicum paste, tahini, salt, olive oil and paprika and blend into a smooth purée. Spoon the humus into a bowl.

Peel the cucumber and finely chop. Finely chop the onion. Slice the red capsicum, remove the seeds and stalk, and finely chop. Chop the sucuk very finely. Chop the day-old bread into small cubes.

Put the sucuk in a small frying pan over low heat and bring to a simmer, then cook until the fat begins to sizzle and emerge. Add the bread cubes and capsicum, and cook for 2 minutes until crisp. Remove the sucuk, bread and capsicum from the pan and mix with the cucumber and red onion.

Using a spoon, swirl the humus so it looks like a whirlpool, and then scatter the sucuk mixture into the swirls. Serve the bowl of humus with grilled pide or pita crisps.