Hummus is a healthy and nutritious snack that is surprisingly easy to make. Hummus is great as a dip with veggies (or chips - we don't judge), or spread on a wrap to add some healthy protein to your lunch, it can even be added to mashed potatoes in place of sour cream or watered down with extra olive oil and lemon juice to use as a salad dressing. You can customize hummus to suit your taste we've included some suggestions below.
We'll start with a traditional hummus recipe then we talk about some variations:
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 medium to large clove garlic roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste, available at local grocery stores in the international food section)
2 to 4 tbsp ice water
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
Steps:
Rinse and drain the chickpeas, place them in a pot with the baking soda and cover with water. Bring to a boil for about 20 minutes. Drain the chickpeas and run under cold water for 30 seconds. Set aside
Put the lemon juice, garlic, and salt into a food processor and process until it forms a paste
Add the tahini to the food processor and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add 2 to 4 tbsp of cold water to get desired consistency.
Add the cumin and the drained chickpeas and process again, adding the olive oil while blending. Add more water to get a creamier texture.
The base of the hummus is the chickpeas and the tahini, you can add different flavors to suit your taste. We've listed a few suggestions below, but you can add any flavor you like.
For roasted garlic hummus add 1 to 2 heads of roasted garlic
For roasted red pepper hummus add 3/4 cup roasted red peppers drained and sliced
For a more kid friendly hummus that works great as a fruit dip cook the chickpeas as instructed above then put in the food processor with:
3 to 4 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp water
Blend in the food processor until you get a creamy smooth consistency and enjoy!