Homemade Hummus

I love dip.


Dip, dip, dip, dip, dip...................

But it's not exactly health consicous most of the time.

Store bought hummus can be deceptive too, it really depends on how much and what type of oil they use. (I count hummus among the dip family of foods)

So here are my health gain tips for making hummus.

1. Chickpeas.
You can purchase a can of chickpeas for under $2 (in NZ). This will make a good amount of hummus (bigger than those pottles at the supermarket anyway) and will work out much cheaper and better for you. If you want to make even cheaper hummus then purchase dried chickpeas. You can often get these in the bulk bin area of your supermarket, at asian supermarkets/suppliers or bulk suppliers (like Moore Wilson's in Wellington/Hutt Valley). There are loads of methods to cooking chickpeas but all I do is put a huge amount in the crockpot, cover with water and turn on to high. No soaking, rinsing etc. Yo ucan tell when they are done as the "squish" easier when you push on them. The only down side to doing this is that the smell is not pleasant (well, I don't like it, so there!) Cooked chickpeas can be frozen (as can hummus).

2. Recipe.
My recipe is very simple and has no fancy stuff included. Place desired amount of chickpeas in a bowl (I use a whole tin at once, but if using home cooked chickpeas I just put in a random amount that looks about right, nothing like a bit of guess and check every now and then). Add a small clove of garlic and a good squirt of lemon juice. Whiz and whiz and whiz till it's how you like it. If you are using canned chickpeas you can use the liquid to thin down your hummus till it's how you like it. If using homemade chickpeas you could use a small amount of water. In both you could add oil (that's what the store bought ones have in them) but I don't like to add the oil, I don't find it makes much difference. And that's it.

3. Additions.
You could add oil (professionals do), tahini (seasame seed paste), peanut butter (apparently it has the same taste effect as tahini), curry powder or other spices, mashed veges (like pumpkin or kumara). I don't do any of these (might try the veges one day) as to be honest they don't make much difference to the taste.



Final thoughts on hummus....
Eat it from the bowl (makes it yummier) - large scoops of guilt free hummus on rice crackers makes a tasty snack. If you want to increase you vegetable count you could use carrots, celery, raw brocoli and cauliflower, capsicum, beans, snow peas as hummus carriers.



Enjoy