Back to Basics: Houmous!

Back to Basics: Houmous

You know, houmous is one of those things which automatically gets added to the weekly shop without too much thought but it’s really so simple to make your own and takes about as long to make as it does to wrestle the box out of the cardboard sleeve and remove the plastic! 😀 Houmous (or hummus / humus) is traditionally a Middle Eastern food used as a dip made from crushed chickpeas (garbanzo / besan peas). Yumyum… we love Chickpeas at Life Diet Health!

Why eat Chickpeas?

Chickpeas are a great source of protein, carbohydrate, iron, zinc, B vitamins as well as containing phosphorus, folate, magnesium and even Vitamin C! 🙂 We use them for all sorts of things such as roasting, adding to casseroles, salads, grains and use the flour to make batters (think onion bhaji), pancakes and breads. We also use the liquid from tinned chickpeas (you can also use the liquid from freshly cooked dried ones) as aquafaba which we use in meringues, mousses and bread! Bet you can’t tell that chickpeas are one of our favourite foods! Don’t tell anyone but I have been known to eat them straight out of the can! 😛

The Houmous recipe

Anyway, houmous is one of those things which is so quick and easy to make… if you know how but I realised that we don’t have a recipe for it on the blog – so here it is! 🙂 I’ve added houmous to the back to basics series along with crumble and porridge as it’s something so simple but often overlooked! As with all recipes, you can switch out ingredients to make it better suited to your taste or pantry (lime for lemon, chili for black pepper etc.) or add some in to fancy it up a bit! 🙂 Try adding sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, black olives, pesto or fresh basil, or a drizzle of olive oil into the mix. Whatever you do, make sure you enjoy it! Dip it, spread it, spoon it! Serve it with delicious pitta strips or these delicious green banana nut cutlets! 🙂

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Back to Basics: Houmous

Fresh, tasty, wholesome houmous! A blend of chickpeas, garlic and a few extras.

Course: dip, sides, Snack, spread, starter

Cuisine: middle eastern

Keyword: chickpeas, dips, houmous, hummus

Created by:: Laurena @LifeDietHealth

Gather

• 1 x 400 g tin chickpeas (drained but keep the liquid)
• 1 lemon
• 1 heaped teaspoon tahini (or use 2 teaspoons sesame seeds blended)
• 1 small garlic clove (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic granules)
• Black pepper
• Salt to taste (I use pink Himalayan)

Prepare

1. Tip the chickpeas into the food processor and add 2 tablespoons of the reserved chickpea liquid.
2. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, tahini, garlic, black pepper and salt.
3. Blend until smooth (or leave chunky if you like) adding more of the reserved liquid if needed. Taste test. Adjust seasoning by adding more lemon or salt.
4. Enjoy!

Tips & Storage

• Drizzle with your favourite olive oil to serve (I used a Spanish tomato olive oil)
• Add some fresh chopped herbs – basil or coriander work well.
• Serve cold with crudités (sticks of carrots, cucumber, peppers, celery etc)
• Serve warm with fresh bread
• Spread on toast, fill a sandwich, pack a pitta
• Top a jacket potato
• Dollop it over your salad for added protein
• Store refrigerated and covered for up to 5 days