How to make hummus to happily share

Here we were, waiting for the vintage crew to arrive from their various exotic overseas locations. Why they want to come to Canberra from places such as the Napa and the northern Rhone Valley is an ongoing mystery.

We have been using internationally trained and experienced winemakers for a number of years now; each season we have many applicants for the positions. They bring to our humble little winery a sense of inclusion in the global wine scene and they regale us with tales of great wine, food and people.

This year we have an issue, though. I go over the plan with the permanent staff. ''OK, now whatever you do, don't mention pork.'' It's one of those John Cleese moments led by the fact we have a visiting winemaker from Israel and we are lacking so much knowledge about this country other than the firm belief they don't like pork and we should do all we can to hide the fact that we do. The other is from New Zealand, which is cool - they are just like us, except know how, as a nation, to play rugby so much better.

I've even got Jeff, our hunter, to do something about all the wild pig carcasses he seems to be collecting. So we are all ready, schooled in the art of non-pork talk. I know now, in retrospect, we really are clueless sometimes about the culture of everyone else, unless they are sort of like us, as in the Kiwis.

The Israeli winemaker turns out to be totally cool with our dependence on pork parts and, well, seems just like us.

Myth busted. I always revert to The Simpsons characterisations, so really thought he'd turn up as an old man in some sort of cape and talk in a New York-Jewish accent.

Our ignorance is further exposed when we sit down one night to a mid-harvest dinner overlooking our 15-year-old vineyard and ask the question, ''So, how long have you been growing grapes in Israel?'', thinking it a new thing. Well, he said - and he was quite pleasant and totally non-ironic - it predates the Bible.

Inevitably we get onto food. Middle Eastern food is generally clumped together and mainly surfaces as some sort of skewered meat, of which there is a lot but so much more, and like wine, these are not recent MasterChef or Jamie Oliver-inspired fads. They have been making these dishes, such as cous cous and hummus, for a long time indeed.

And it is in the humble ''dip'' hummus that we find this week's inspiration. Thinking it was something you'd serve with chips to nibble on before you got to the real food, Guy showed us just how detailed and complex hummus can be.

A few pointers first. Use good-quality chickpeas, never tinned, despite how often recipes will tell you this is OK. Buy good quality tahini; it should be fresh, liquid. Locally, Coles at Manuka in its kosher section has some good brands; apparently Iran is known for the quality of its sesame paste. Do not add olive oil to the paste itself; use the best you can find as a dressing.

Mix up the toppings - hummus is a substantial sharing meal, generally lunch in Israel or breakfast in Palestine. Top with whole cooked chickpeas, spiced lamb or mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, along with a range of freshly roasted and ground spices and herbs.

This goes down, along with the Korean ssam barbecue, the Mexican taco and many others, as a great sharing meal. Everyone gathers around the same plate, filling the pita with luscious hummus and all the condiments. Making your own pita bread is worth trying, too; it's the root of pizza and just as easy to make. You can also add harissa or grilled peppers as garnish to spice it up.

Hummus, spiced lamb and pita bread

Hummus

500g chickpeas

3L water

2 tbsp salt

200g tahina

2 lemons, zested grated and juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

Soak the chickpeas in 2L water with 1 tbsp salt dissolved in it overnight.

Rinse well, bring the other litre of water and rest of the salt to a simmer and add peas, cook at a very low simmer until they are soft but not falling apart. Top up water if needed, keep it covered. Drain, reserving the stock plus a cup of peas to serve and place the rest in a blender with lemon zest and juice, tahina and garlic. Blend to a fine puree adding stock to achieve the right texture which should be thick but spreadable.

To serve

2 tbsp cumin seeds - see recipe at end

1-2 tsp chilli powder, aleppo, cayenne etc

Handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

3 tbsp good olive oil

chopped parsley

reserved whole cooked chickpeas

At its best this is served still warm from the cooking process. Otherwise you could briefly warm the hummus over boiling water or just serve at room temperature. Spread the hummus over a plate, scattering the whole peas, sprinkle with cumin, chili and parsley, finishing by drizzling over plenty of fresh, fruity olive oil serve with pita bread.

Another garnish to make a more substantial meal is to add some spiced lamb mince, hand cut the lamb for a better result and serve with your own still warm pita pockets.

Spiced lamb mince

50g lamb shoulder, minced

1 onion, minced

handful flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 tbsp ras el hanout

1 tomato, chopped

splash of water or stock

Mix everything together beside the stock or water, heat a thick-based pan until it is smoking, add a splash of water and quickly fry the mixture, turning over so it browns well (should only take 2-3 minutes), deglaze with stock to bring it all together. Add to hummus before drizzling with oil.

Pita bread

450g bread flour

250ml water

15g dried yeast

12g salt

30ml olive oil

Weigh or measure everything and either by hand or machine form and knead into a firm dough, divide in two and prove in covered bowls until they double up. Knock back and roll out to two thin oblongs. Using a round, 10cm pastry cutter, cut into 10-12 discs. Cover and have an oven set on flat out. Transfer the discs to a hot tray or onto hot pizza stones and cook for four minutes each until they puff up. Work in small batches and keep warm to serve.

Cumin seeds

In a heavy frypan add seeds and dry fry them until fragrant. While hot, grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.

>> Bryan Martin is winemaker at Ravensworth and Clonakilla.