So despite the fact that I pride myself in being a hummus and fitness fiend (see above tagline), I have yet to do a post on either – shocking, I know.
(On the latter, I’m currently settling in back at university so my workouts haven’t exactly been post-worthy – but I do promise to post about my workouts soon.)
Since October is upon us and the Vegan Mofo has officially begun – now seems like a better time than any!
Hummus (or hoummus, hommos, حمص, however you say/spell it), is perhaps the most well known dish/mezze ever to emerge from the Arab world/Mediterranea. Good old wiki describes it as a “Levantine Arab food dip or spread made from cooked mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and garlic”.
I would describe it as an ingenious marriage of flavours and textures that results in an undeniable foodgasm in my mouth.
Yep, I went there.
Now as per my theme for the Vegan MoFo , my task was to Veganize/healthify this popular dip/spread, however being truth be told I think I had my work cut out for me. Made primarily with chickpeas and tahini, hummus is typically Vegan, and it’s also pretty healthy as far as dips go – full of protein and fibre as well as calcium from the tahini (sesame seed paste).
However some more traditional Lebanese recipes call for the addition of yoghurt to give a creamier/smooth texture in addition to copious amounts of olive oil (not that I’m dissing OO – I’m all for healthy fats but at some of the restaurants I’ve been to, hummus is just the thing between all the oil. Not so appetizing).
So here’s my tried and tested version of what is perhaps the most delicious creation known to man:
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Heart Healthy Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 can organic chickpeas (reserve the liquid for blending)
- 2-3T tahini (for best results use raw tahini made from unroasted hulled sesame seeds)
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 1-2 cloves garlic (l like a LOT of garlic, reduce as necessary. If you’re not a fan 1 large clove should be fine)
- 1/2t salt
- 1t ground flaxseed
- 1t ground cumin
- 1/2 black pepper
- 2T fresh parsley
- A few fresh mint leaves
- 1T extra virgin olive oil (optional – can omit for a low-fat version)
Directions
- Add chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, spices and herbs to a food processor and blend.
- Depending on what kind of consistency you prefer, drizzle in some of the reserved liquid to thin – I usually use about half the liquid to begin with and add in more water as needed.
- Taste test and adjust seasonings – I prefer a strong lemon taste so will usually add some more at this point – be wary of adding too much liquid if you do up the lemon juice.
- Serve and garnish with olive oil and parsley leaves
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The addition of ground flax gives you some Omega 3′s without compromising the taste at all – and by using a decent amount of olive oil you can have yourself some truly tasty Vegan and heart healthy hummus.
Enjoy! I know I will – over, and over again. 😉
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