Hummus (V)

Ah Hummus. Delicious to eat, and even more fun to say… huuuuuuumaaaaaaahhhhhsss … whooooooomaaaaaassss

Okay I’ll stop saying houmous weirdly…for now.

So you may have already guessed, but yes, this is indeed the blog post you have all been waiting for, one which is ultimately and entirely dedicated to hummus. I know you’re all as excited as I am! This delicious dip is of Egyptian origin, with it’s name being the Arabic word for chickpeas, which seems quite fitting considering the two base ingredients are tahini and chickpeas.

Chickpeas barley needs any introduction, as these little legumes are notorious for packing a serious protein punch. Of Middle Eastern decent, chickpeas are one of the best foods you can eat, as not only are they an excellent source of essential nutrients like iron, folate, phosphorus, fibre and many other confusing names that sound impressive... But they are also low in fat and taste great!

While we all recognize Hummus as the bowl of creamy stuff that accompanies the sad selection of carrot and celery sticks that some poor kid was forced to take to a shared lunch, there are an extraordinarily large number of ways to spruce up this seemingly bland spread. By simply adding roasted garlic, sundried tomato, grilled eggplant, paprika or cumin it becomes a taste sensation… and yes I did just use the phrase taste sensation. Make your hummus adventures even more delectable by thinking outside the box and adding it to other meals such as salads, falafel, corn chips or as a spread for sandwiches and wraps.

Hummus + Sundried tomatoes = Love

While hummus is a food that isn’t too common around NZ, it is one of those sneaky foods that is always store bought, with people never realizing how quick, cheap and satisfying it is to make your own! One day when I was faced with 7 unused cans of chickpeas (as one usually is) it became obvious after a few google searches that making hummus was the way to go. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that I could also use up this suspicious jar of ‘tahini’ that had been kicking around, and only then needed lemon, cumin and paprika to make up the recipe.

With its exotic name and expensive supermarket price I was expecting some long laborious process involving mortars, pestles and some rare foreign African spice plant in order to get my hummus, almost skeptical when I read that the recipes usually consisted of 1) Add chickpeas, tahini and cumin to blender 2) Blend till smooth. 
But sometimes life really is that simple.

Basic hummus recipe

Serves 6-8 as a starter

• 2 x 400g cans of chickpeas (reserve the liquid and a few chickpeas for decoration)
• 4 tsp tahini
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp crushed sea salt
• 6 tbsp quality extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for drizzling)
• 3½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Paprika (optional)
• Coriander or parsley leaves (optional)

Rinse the chickpeas in cold water and tip into the food processor. Add the tahini, crushed garlic, salt, lemon juice and seven tablespoons of the reserved liquid from the cans. Turn on the food processor and slowly pour in the oil while it runs.

When the mixture is fully combined and smooth, tip it into a serving dish. Drizzle with some more extra virgin olive oil and decorate with a few whole chickpeas.