Hummus recipe – 4 ways

Did you know that yesterday was international hummus day?  If you have been following my blog, you will know my love for the almighty chickpea.  It is incredibly versatile and of course they are used for the base of most hummus.  I didn’t have time to post this yesterday, but I celebrated hummus day in style with four different types of hummus.  Below is a base recipe which you can then add different flavours and mix up your hummus styles.  Pictured above are a pea and mint hummus, a beetroot hummus, a roasted red pepper and garlic hummus and finally a hummus flavoured with zhoug, a yemenite spice paste with fresh coriander, parsley and cloves.  I actually think the zhoug was my favourite.  I picked up a jar last time I was in the UK and it adds a spicy herb flavour which really brings the hummus alive.

On a side note, I made a batch of Irish soda bread to serve with my hummus.  I used my Vegan Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Irish Soda Bread recipe, but just left out the chocolate, sugar and cranberries and topped the bread with loads of seeds before baking.

Basic Hummus recipe

250 g canned chickpeas (retain the chickpea water from the can)

2 tsp dried cumin

2 tsp dried coriander

1/2 tsp of dried garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried onion powder

1 heaped tsp tahini

good squeeze of lemon

a glug of olive oil

a good pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Add a little of the chickpea water if the mix is too thick.  Check the seasoning and add more of any of the spices or salt as required.

For the Zhoug hummus

simply add 2 tbsp of zhoug paste to hummus and stir through

For the Beetroot hummus

Peel 300 g of beetroot and cut into chunks.  Sprinkle with oil and salt and roast in the oven for 40 mins until tender at 180 degrees.  Once cool add to the hummus and pulse until thoroughly combined.  I usually leave out the garlic, onion powder and tahini as I think it gives a more beetrooty flavour.  You will also probably need to add a little extra chickpea water or oil or the mixture will be very thick.

For the Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic hummus

Cut two red peppers into chunks and roast with 2 cloves of garlic in the oven for 30 mins at 180 degrees, until the peppers begin to char.  Squeeze the roasted garlic from their cases and add with the red peppers and a tsp of smoked paprika to the hummus and pulse until thoroughly combined.  I think this works best with an extra squeeze or two of lemon juice.

For the Pea and Mint Hummus

This hummus does not use the base recipe above.  Simply add 200 g of defrosted frozen peas, a handful of fresh mint, a squeeze of lemon juice, a glug of olive oil, a good pinch of salt and 2 tsp of dried cumin to a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Add a little water if the mixture is too thick.