Happy Hummus

Hummus; the Gateway Dip

Hummus is a dip made primarily of chick peas (garbanzo beans).  It is Mediterranean in origin, with recipes tracing from Lebanon to Greece and beyond.  It's crazy healthy, amazingly cheap and one of my family's favourite go-to foods.  We eat it with everything from raw veggies to wraps to tortilla chips and beyond.  It's an awesome source of nutrients (a one cup serving of chick peas contains 50% of your daily potassium needs, 2% vitamin A, 21% calcium, 13% vitamin C, 69% iron, 2% sodium55% vitamin B6, and 57% magnesium).  One cup of cooked chickpeas contains 269 calories, 45 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of protein, 13 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of fat and 0 grams of cholesterol.  Chickpeas also contain vitamin K, folate, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, choline and selenium.  They're also vegan and gluten-free.  Is there anything chick peas can't do?  I don't know if I'd trust them to do my banking, but I might consider leaving them in charge of the kids if I were to head to the store or something!  They're pretty responsible.

Hummus as a dip is also pretty forgiving.  I'm a big fan of EASY, and opening a can of chick peas is about as easy as it gets - cheap too.  I always rinse my canned beans and chick peas are no exception.  That goo water just isn't appetizing and it can throw the liquid balance off on the recipe.  Rinsing also removes some of the sodium in canned beans so if you're trying to cut back on sodium, it's definitely something you want to get into the habit of doing.  Anyway, here's the thing.  I sometimes don't have tahini - the sesame paste that is an ingredient in hummus.  Don't sweat it if you don't.  There is a certain smoky flavour and silkiness it adds, but we're dealing with reality and sometimes you just don't have it.  The other thing is hummus can be made in a blender.  I remember not having a food processor one Christmas and I made all these recipes where it called for a food processor.  I knew my mom had bought one for me but I couldn't open it until Christmas day...it was either chop by hand, or make use of the blender.  As long as you add your liquid, your blender should work just fine.

Here's my basic hummus recipe.  Feel free to add and subtract to your tastes.  Experimentation is part of the fun.  If you have parsley or cilantro, throw lime juice in instead of lemon juice.  If you like a little heat, squirt some siracha into the mix.  If you're looking to add another source of protein, toss in some tofu.  It contains all eight essential amino acids. Tofu's also an excellent source of iron and calcium and the minerals manganese, selenium and phosphorous. In addition, it's a good source of magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamin B1.  Experiment to suit your tastes.  If you're going to the dentist, cut back to one clove of garlic (unless you want to punish your dentist, then add more garlic!).  Try the original, but like I said, add and subtract as you have ingredients.  If you stumble upon a winner, pass it on!  I'd love to hear about it.

Abby Community Kitchen Basic Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed
1 - 2 cloves garlic, peeled
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup tahini
4 - 5 tbsp. olive oil (plus a dash for serving)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/8 - 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp paprika (for serving)

Add lemon juice, olive oil and garlic to blender or food processor.  Add tahini, chick peas and remaining ingredients (except paprika) and blend on high until smooth and creamy.

Spoon into serving bowl and add remaining olive oil and paprika.

Cilantro Lime Hummus

This is a batch of cilantro lime hummus I made for the family.  I love to make it ahead (usually doubling the recipe) and leaving it in a glass jar with a lid in the fridge for the family to eat on whatever they choose.  I like to make meals and snacks for the week ahead as much as possible, but we'll get into that in another upcoming post.  In the meantime, I hope you give hummus a try.  As I mentioned, if you experiment and hit on a winner, let me know!

Happy Hummusing!