I was browsing the food pages of the internet this week, as always, and came across what I thought sounded like a fabulous recipe. I’ve always got too many carrots, so I wanted to use them instead of watching them turn into sad representatives of food waste, virtually overnight. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that carrots are the pear of the vegetable world.

I found this blog post: http://www.garnishwithlemon.com/2012/10/22/carrot-hummus/

As I had no tahini, I made the best of what I did have.

3 cups cooked carrots

2 cups (1 can) chickpeas, drained

Juice 1 small lemon

2 large cloves smoked garlic or 1 fat clove of unsmoked (stronger taste)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

Heaped tablespoon smooth peanut butter

Extra virgin olive oil

2 level tablespoons ground almonds, to add a bit of bulk

salt to taste

Put all of the above in a food processor and blitz. Drizzle in the olive oil so that it thins the mixture to a spreadable consistency, or to however you like your houmous. I prefer mine thick and quite grainy.

Leave it to sit for a while to develop. If you can.

To go with this I made a chicken dish up out of what I had in the cupboard.

4 chicken thighs, skin on

1 tin chopped tomatoes, good ones. I used Cirio as they have a nice, rich juice

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tsp cinnamon

Squeezy honey

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 handfuls of dried chopped prunes

Cook the chicken skin side down in a dry pan (one that can go in the oven)

When the skin starts to turn golden, turn the chicken over.

Scatter the prunes around the chicken.

Pour in the tomatoes, trying not to get too much over the chicken skin.

Add the cinnamon and paprika and mix in.

Tuck the garlic slices into the tomatoes.

Drizzle honey over the exposed chicken skin.

Simmer to meld the spices then pop into the oven.

Bake for 40 minutes on about 170ºC Fan, Gas 5.