With the cupboards virtually bare, and a can of chickpeas winking at me every time I opened the virtually bare cupboard, there was only one thing for it – whip up some tasty hummus.

While I love hummus, I’m a novice when it comes to making your own. I’ve steered clear of it having had a nasty tasting experience a long time ago, when I put slightly too much – make that way too much – tahini in said hummus and it wasn’t very pleasant at all.

So, I decided to seek the help of an expert, and turned to Mr Jamie Oliver for a helping hand. He sells his recipe as ‘the best basic hummus recipe‘ and basic it is.

There’s nothing unexpected in the list of ingredients; chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and salt, with the option to add paparika, coriander or parsley. Whizz everything up in a blender and voila.

Having been terrified of adding too much tahini following my previous experience, I opted for adding a little at a time and stopped after 3 tablespoons, rather than the advertised 4 – but that’s just personal taste.

The verdict from the cook: ‘It’s easy to make, reasonably tasty and certainly fills a hungry tum if the cupboard is looking a little worse for wear. Would I make it again? Probably.’