Hummus, a mediterranean, nutrient dense dish which is delicious just as it is or combined with pita bread or vegetables or crackers!

The standard recipe for hummus is:

1 can chickpeas (minus the brine), c.a 350-400g

Tahini, 2-3 tbs (should be a runny tahini)

Garlic cloves c.a 2-3 

Lemon juice, c.a 1-2 tsp 

Olive oil, c.a 100ml (note i do c.a 50ml oil and 50ml aquafaba or water)

Salt for taste and can add coriander & cumin etc

Mix it all together in a food processor until it is smooth i.e shouldnt have “solid” pieces of chickpeas left, so mixing time can vary from  2 minutes to 5 minutes or more!

What flavour hummus you eat can vary and now a days you can buy all different types of flavours and make your own different ones.

I recently made beetroot hummus, where i basically just added 1,5 cooked beetroot (store bought) into the hummus mix.

But other flavours you can make is sundried tomato hummus i.e add sun dried tomatoes and maybe some more garlic.

Roasted garlic hummus i.e roast some garlic and add that to the mix

Avocado hummus

Chilli hummus

etc

HERE is a link to an article with even more unique hummus flavours you can make!

And why post a recipe without some nutritional information?

Chickpeas, or so called garbonzo beans, are a great source of vegan protein and have c.a 9g protein per 100g cooked chickpeas (c.a 19g protein per 100g pre cooked weight!). However chickpeas don’t have all the essential amino acids, (they lack methionine) so if you combine your hummus with pita bread(which has methionine but lacks lysine which chickpeas have) you have a complete protein source for that meal (i.e more reason to eat bread!).

Chickpeas are also a source of iron and calcium and vitamin B6, however chickpeas also have antinutrients meaning that the iron isn’t as well absorbed in the body compared to animal protein, but nonetheless it is still a source of iron and shouldn’t be forgotten!  They are also a great source of fiber which many people are in more need of, however it is important to slowly increase your intake of fiber so that your stomach and digestive system doesn’t get overwhelmed and you end up with stomach pain and gas!

*All information from my university lecture book: Näringslära för högskolan

If you are boiling your own chickpeas make sure that they are fully cooked and are soft so that the antinutrients and toxins are “deactivated” (for lack of better word!). Also make sure to soak the beans for atleast 8 hours, preferably more and then rinse the water 1-2 times during those 8+ hours and before cooking rinse the beans a few times to get rid of the water where the toxins and antinutrients will have leached out! Will also lower the risk of over boiling during the cooking time!

*Source: Own experience and googling in the past.