When it comes to cooking, hummus is one of the simplest things to make. It doesn’t even require cooking. All you need are ingredients and a food processor. Hummus is also pretty healthy. With chickpeas being the main ingredient, it contains loads of minerals, vitamins, fibres and protein.
It’s even rumoured to be an aphrodisiac…
(We have to be honest though, we personally never noticed anything different after eating hummus. But it is true that hummus contains a lot iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. All known for giving you more energy. So eating it won’t hurt.)
Hummus is popular in the entire middle-east and mediterranean region and they’ve been eating it there for centuries. It’s full name is actually hummus bi tahini, which means “chickpeas with tahini”. (Tahini being a paste made from crushed sesame seeds.) Where exactly the dish was invented is unclear and hotly contested. The oldest recorded hummus recipe however, originates from Egypt. Recipes for hummus vary slightly from region to region. But chickpeas, sesame paste, lemon juice and garlic seem to be a part of most versions.
Traditionally it would be eaten with pita bread as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to falafel. These days though, it’s popular around the globe and the ways in which it is used are endless. It can be used as a spread on toast or as a dip with raw vegetables. When used in a wrap it can act as a replacement for butter or mayonnaise. It can even be used in baking.
Yes, apparently hummus cake is really a thing.
We aren’t that adventurous (yet) when it comes to hummus. We just eat it as a spread on oven-baked bread. Hummus by itself is very mild in taste, so it works very well as a base to which different flavours can be added. We usually just add some pickled chillies, sun-dried tomatoes or harissa sauce.
But don’t let our lack of adventure stop you from experimenting. Try adding different things. For example, you can add fresh herbs or dried chili flakes, cumin, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, pumpkin, avocado, wasabi,… the list is endless. Just try out our recipe and then let your imagination run wild.
And if you want to attempt making hummus from dried chickpeas, try our how-to on cooking chickpeas from scratch.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
ml
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- 200 gr cooked chickpeas
- 1 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 to 3 tbsp water
Ingredients
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- Add the chickpeas, tahini, garlic and salt to the food processor. Process into a paste.
- Add the lemon juice and olive oil. Process again.
- Add water a little bit at a time until the paste becomes smooth and creamy. Two to three tablespoons of water is usually enough.
- Transfer the hummus to a bowl and cover. Let it rest for 30 minutes before serving. When refrigerated, hummus will keep for about 2 days.
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