This hummus is heroic in in my eyes as it’s got half the amount of oil contained in usual hummus and no flavour has been sacrificed. Why is low fat important? So, well, time to fess up: My jeans shrunk in the wash over Christmas (yeah right), so I’m engaging some common sense and turning to nutritious snacks that cost next to nothing to make, that are low in fat and contain no sugar. What to whip up in such situations? I don’t reckon you can beat hummus which has been one of my favourite stand-by snacks since, well, ages. Unfortunately lots of store bought hummus can be quite high in fat. Not this stuff!
Now, this is hummus “with a twist” because I made this with a microwave and a hand held mixer because my bloody food processor blew up on Christmas Eve when I was in the middle of making (almost) Paleo Boozy Truffles. I haven’t had the time to check out other Food Processors yet that will obviously be made of a much higher quality. Being both indecisive and not particularly flush with cash at Christmas (which coincided with both our vehicles needing four new tyres) I’ve decided to hold off buying a new food processor. Besides, do I really need one? Now, in case you were wondering where the heck am I headed with this, well, silly, I needed to get creative to make my beloved hummus because whipping it up with a food processor was out of the question! Are you still with me? Good news – the handheld mixer worked fabulously to blitz my hummus. So fabulously in fact, even if I get a new food processor, I’ll continue to whip hummus up this way, as the result is the best home made hummus EVER. As for heating the chickpeas up in the microwave – stroke of genius: They soften and therefore blitz easier. Oh, and how can I resist another use (and shameless plug) for my dukkah? The inclusion of this in the hummus takes it to A Whole New Level.
By the way, after my food processor blew up I picked it up and went to put it in the rubbish. The cord was left dangling on the bench and, as it followed me out the door, it swept across the bench and knocked my iPhone on to the floor. Then this happened. Thanks goodness someone invented Cellotape. Gutted…. I buggered two of my favourite gadgets within seconds of each other.
Righty, back to the hummus…. Sorry, I get distracted!
Ingredients (makes 1 1/2 c hummus)
1 300g can chickpeas (I used the Craig’s brand)
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tlb tahini
2 tlb water
2 tlb lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dukkah (optional – if you haven’t got dukkah, substitute this for 1/4 tsp ground cumin)
LARGE pinch of each: Dried oregano, cayenne pepper and paprika
1 tlb extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tlb of the reserved brine from the chickpeas
- Drain chickpeas in a colander, reserve some of the brine for later (just in case!). Rinse chickpeas well with water.
- Place (the now drained) chickpeas in a microwave-proof bowl. Microwave for about 45 secs. Tip warmed chickpeas into a large bowl.
- Using the same microwave proof bowl as above, combine tahini with the water. Microwave this for 30 seconds then give it a good stir and add it to the bowl containing chickpeas.
- Add all other ingredients to the chickpeas except the reserved brine liquid.
- Using a hand held stick mixer, blitz your mixture until smooth (unlike me, if you own a food processor – tip everything into the bowl of your food processor and whizz till smooth). If you find the hummus needs loosening up add 1-2 tlb of the reserved brine from the chickpeas and give it another whizz.
- Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
Delicious as a snack with raw veges, on toast with a poached egg as a Mediterranean inspired breakfast. Scrummy in a pita bread with falafel and salad or simply try it with anything in place of butter or mayonnaise. I’ve also mixed hummus into mashed potatoes on several occasions – amazing! What’s your favourite way to eat hummus?
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