Exotic chickpea hummus with lemon and garlic

Hummus recipes aren’t Set in Stone!

Now that you’ve decided on hummus as your next culinary venture you can decide how you want to customize it. This recipe can be modified to suit! Use the legume of your choice and garnish with a variety of condiments like chopped olives, green herbs, flavored olive oil, spices and/or roasted garlic. I like chickpeas (garbanzo beans) as they are a meaty bean and whip up fluffy and nice. They also provide many essential nutrients and protein to my diet. Paired with a whole grain like brown rice, farro, or sprouted wheat bread this hummus becomes part of a complete protein rich meal.

For more tangy flavor I use lots of fresh garlic, lemon, tahini (sesame seed butter), spices like cayenne pepper and cumin for flavor, and olive oil for a silky-smooth texture. Use canned beans if you want a last minute hummus, or do what I do, and make a large batch from dry beans and store extra in the freezer.

With all the fresh crushed garlic and spices this dip has antioxidant power! I like to take it to gatherings and festivities for the holidays to help everyone build immunity to seasonal viruses.

Please Note* Some hummus recipes recommend removing the outer skin of the bean. Don’t do it! Maybe it makes the hummus creamier but it also removes the fiber that is an essential nutrient in this whole food. Plus, who has the time to take the skins off one by one, that’s a waste of time and a waste of food.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. dry chickpeas/or 6 cans already cooked

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4-1/2 cup tahini

• 1 lemon-juiced

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

• 1/2 tsp various spices of choice-you can add more than one!

  • cumin

  • paprika

  • cayenne pepper

  • onion or garlic powder

Directions

Easy preparation is essential to making home cooking feasible for busy people.

Dry Chickpea preparation: Put the beans in a large pot and rinse well, sometimes rocks and gravel will get by the commercial sifter so keep your eyes peeled as you rinse. Soak the clean chickpeas overnight in plenty of water (about 2 inches over top of beans). The beans begin to soak water up pretty fast so I check about 6-8 hours after soaking to make sure there is still some water covering the top. Add more water of needed.

The next day, after beans are swollen with water, give another few rinses and then fill the pot with water to begin cooking the chickpeas, level should be a couple inches over surface of beans. Add baking soda to water to help loosen the outer husks. Bring water to boil and then turn down to simmer on low for up to 2-3 hours, or until beans are tender but not mushy.

After beans are cooked drain water and reserve.-It will be a golden color and useful to add to soups and salad dressings.

I split the ingredients for my food processor and fill with 1/2 the chickpeas. Put the lid on and blend. After chickpeas are blended thoroughly trickle half the olive oil in as blending continues. Add half the tahini and continue blend until creamy and smooth.

Crush garlic, measure salt, and choose spices. One at a time add these to the blended beans, being careful spices don’t clump. Continue to blend and add lemon juice.

Once blending is complete, scrape the hummus into a large bowl and finish processing the other half of the beans, adding the remainder of the olive oil and tahini as you blend. You will then transfer second batch to the big bowl and thoroughly mix both together to evenly distribute ingredients. If you’re concerned about distribution of spices between batches you can place the hummus in a large stand mixer to finish mixing.

I use mason jars or recycled yoghurt and salsa containers to put my hummus in. Save one portion for fresh use and refrigerate, then put the extras in the freezer!

To serve: I garnish my hummus with a little bit of cayenne or paprika, sometimes cilantro, and use crackers and veggies to dip and eat! Yum.

Making Extra!

Making extra hummus is essential for your good health! Keeping hummus in the fridge and freezer ensures you have tasty and nutritious options for snacking. With some raw veg like carrots, celery, and cucumbers this hummus is a satiating way to curb your appetite and get nutrients. Add to brown rice, whole grain crackers, or sprouted wheat bread and you have a complete protein! I always add a scoop to my salads to make a more nutrient dense meal.

Note*- When I make big batches it is more time consuming initially but then saves me time in the long run and also ensures I make healthy choices later. If I already have stuff in the fridge or freezer waiting for me to grab I won’t go for a less healthy convenience meal when I’m hungry.