Hummus: Make it from Scratch & Eat it for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

How is everyone keeping during these weeks? Can you still distinguish between the weekend and the rest od the week or everyday is Groundhog Day?

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for so long as I was posting so many of my other ideas. One of my clients told me last week that she would like to try to make hummus at home, but she doesn’t know how to make it. What if it does not taste good, is too runny and too bitter? Does this sound familiar to you?

Hummus is one of the easiest ways to get in the benefits of legumes. The main ingredient in hummus is chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), which is also the star in many falafel and curry recipes. When we are talking about the health benefits of hummus, we’re actually discussing the health benefits of the little chickpea. According to The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, chickpeas are a fantastic source of molybdenum, a mineral that activates the enzymes to stop the build up of chemicals in the body. They are also rich in fiber, folic acid and different minerals, such as magnesium, copper and zinc.

The second most important ingredient in hummus is tahini (grinded toasted sesame seeds that turns into butter). The might sesame is a rich source of protein, fiber, B vitamins and minerals (copper, magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium). Also, it has antioxidant properties and reduces the cholesterol absorption.

This Middle Eastern dip is easy to be found in supermarkets, health shops and farmers markets. If you don’t want to be bothered with making your own hummus, feel free to buy a low fat one so you’ll get more chickpeas in your hummus. You can always add olive oil and some paprika aftewards to enhance the flavour.

Hummus is made from blending together chickpeas, tahini (sesame butter or paste), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper. You can adjust how the kind of spices you add according to your taste.

You can eat hummus for breakfast on wholegrain toast (add some chopped tomatoes & peppers for a veggie powered morning), for lunch & dinner (just add a big dollop on your salad or potatoes). Almost every dish is better with hummus on top. Do you agree?

So, are you ready to try my hummus recipe?

Hummus

Instructions:

1. Drain & wash the chickpeas. Keep 1/2 cup of water from the cans.

2. In a blender or food processor, add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, sea salt, pepper, paprika and half the water.

3. Pulse a couple of times and make sure all the ingredients are blending. Add the rest of the water and blend again.

4. You can blend it until it’s smooth or you can blend it less so you can still feel the texture of chickpeas. Feel free to add a bit more water if the texture doesn’t seem right.

Yields 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of chickpeas

• 1/2 cup chickpea (from the can) or regular water

• 2 Tablespoons tahini

• the juice from 1/2 lemon

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 2-3 cloves of garlic

• 1 Teaspoon sea salt

• good pinch of pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

I added some extra olive oil, Kalamata olives, paprika and pepper on top of the hummus and served it with a lot of vegetables. You can serve the hummus straight from the blender (or even eat from it, but be aware of those blades).