Recipe: Homemade Hummus
- The Honest Project
- Feb 3, 2015
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 8, 2019
Hummus is a favourite of mine. It is so versatile and perfect with salads, spread on crackers or healthy bread, served with roast vegetables and veggie burgers, as a dip for carrots or even to eat on its own. The beauty of hummus is that you do not need to stick to an exact recipe – you can experiment with different ingredients and flavour to suit your taste buds.
I try to eat chickpeas everyday as they are a good source of protein, calcium and iron for those on a plant based diet. Chickpeas have a low GI value which means that the carbohydrate contained in them is broken down and digested slowly. Hummus is a great way of getting your daily hit of chickpeas. This recipe also contains raw garlic which is regarded as one of the world’s healthiest foods. In short, it contains vitamins C, B6, manganese, selenium and allicin. Research suggests that garlic can be effective against high blood pressure, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, colds and some cancers.
This is my basic hummus recipe. I love it just as it is or sometimes I flavour it to mix it up a little. A really easy way to flavour it is to add some chilli flakes - I love this as it gives it a little kick. Two of my other go-to flavours are roasted red peppers and roasted carrot and coriander. Hummus could not be easier to make, so do not feel confined to these flavours – play around with different tastes until you find your favourite.
Ingredients:
2 cups of chickpeas*
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of water
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of tahini
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons of chilli flakes
Salt and pepper for seasoning.
Paprika or chili flakes to garnish
*If using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain them first. If using dry chickpeas prepare them by soaking them in water for about 12 hours and then cooking them in fresh water for about 1 hour).
Method:
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend to the consistency you prefer.
To serve, drizzle about two teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkle some chilli flakes on top.
Store in a sealed container in the fridge and it should last for about 4-5 days.
PS: if you aren't mad about chilli, just omit it from the recipe.
As I mentioned, while I love plain simple hummus, sometimes I do get bored of it and this is when I vary the flavour. Two of my favourite flavours are roast red pepper hummus and roasted carrot and coriander hummus.
Roast red pepper hummus
Roast 2 red peppers either by broiling them a few inches from a gas flame until skins blister. I find the best way to do this is with a tongs, rotating the peppers until all sides are blistered and blackened. If you don’t have a gas flame, you can roast the red peppers on a baking tray in the oven for about 30 minutes until the skin has blistered and blackened. Set aside the peppers for about 10 minutes and then peel off the charred skin and remove the seeds and stems. Place what is left of the peppers in the food processor with the other ingredients and blend.
Roasted carrot and coriander hummus
Chop two medium sized carrots, drizzle with about 2 teaspoons of coconut oil and roast them in the oven for about 30 minutes. Let them cool before transferring them to the food processor along with the other ingredients as well as a teaspoon of cumin and 2 tablspoons of roasted coriander seeds and then blend. When serving garnish with some chopped fresh coriander.
