Home-made Hummus

This week’s recipe comes from Fiona Wilcock.

Hummus is so easy to make, and you can vary the flavour in many different ways. The shop-bought versions tend to be quite high in fat, but you can reduce this by minimising and measuring the oil and using other sources of liquid. Using canned chickpeas is ideal as you have the liquid they are canned in for blending. Chickpeas are a great source of plant protein, high in fibre (great to keep your gut moving), as well as beneficial plant chemicals called isoflavones. The recipe also provides iron to help with fatigue and make red blood cells and folate (folic acid) another blood essential. A can of chickpeas is cheap, and although you’ll need to buy tahini (sesame seed paste), this keeps well, and you can make this delicious dip in less than 5 minutes right through the year.

Makes about 375g – 6 portions
Preparation time 5 minutes

Download the recipe sheet

400g can of chickpeas,
1 clove garlic,
1 -2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
Black pepper
Optional
40g sundried tomatoes
Chilli flakes

Method

Drain the chickpeas, keeping the liquid from the can.
Place the chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor and add 2 tablespoons of the reserved chickpea liquid.
Blend until smooth.
Add the olive oil, season with black pepper., and process again.
If the mixture is a little firm, add more of the drained liquid, or if you prefer an oilier mixture, another spoon or olive oil.
You can chill and use at the stage, or if you prefer add more ingredients such as sundried tomatoes, and chilli flakes.
Taste the hummus and adjust the seasoning as preferred.
Spoon into a lidded container, and chill until required.

Variation: add grated lemon rind to give a zingier hummus or use plain yoghurt instead of the oil and drained liquid.
Serving suggestion: Serve with sticks of carrot, celery, peppers and cucumber and pieces of toasted pitta bread.
Storage: Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days. Not suitable for freezing