One of my favourite snacks is the ever popular hummus. Look in the chill section of any supermarket and you’ll find a wide selection of different flavours, but it is so easy to make your own and will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
It’s ideal in lunch boxes, especially the school packed lunch. A small tub of hummus with some veg is an ideal way to get the kids eating some extra healthy vegetables.
Hummus also makes a nice vegetarian starter with vegetables and pitta bread or on one big platter with the accompaniments for everyone to share. Add some extra small dishes such as olives, sundries tomatoes and its a perfect starter to a meal rather than a snack. I like a dollop of hummus alongside some chicken or lamb and it also works well in pittas for a homemade kebab.
This is my basic recipe but you can adapt to suit your own taste by increasing or reducing the amount of lemon juice and yoghurt. adding other ingredients such as herbs and spices spices, olives or sundried tomatoes, make for a nice change of flavours. The 400g can of chickpeas makes a reasonable amount and once you’ve made the basic recipe, it’s easy to divide and add other ingredients.
1 400g can of chickpeas
3 desert spoons of Tahini
2 large garlic cloves
2 – 3 desert spoons of natural yoghurt
3 – 4 tbsp of rapeseed or for an extra kick use the Chilli infused oil. Olive oil is the traditional oil used in hummus, use if preferred.
Juice of 1 lemon
Seasoning.
Place all the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, yoghurt, oil and half of the lemon juice and seasoning in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Taste and adjust the seasoning and if needed add the remaining lemon juice.