Home-Made Hummus + Pita Wraps
When I am sitting down to a Sunday beer or just relaxing with mates, I've got a go-to snack that the lads love. They're happy to rip me about it - "Jase, mate let's just gets some chips or some crackers and cheese"
But when I blend up this simple, little dip and throw it on the table with some pita bread and green olives, the troops dive in!
Hummus, it's a dip you'll now find readily available in all major super-markets. But as always, I prefer to make my own for two reasons:
- The taste is always better!
- The quality of the ingredients wins - eg. type of oil used, absence of preservatives.
The true origins of hummus are strongly argued. The Greeks claim it as theirs; the Middle Easterns claim it as theirs and this is tug-of-war over such a traditional food likely results from them being strong trade partners for centuries.
The base ingredient of hummus is chickpeas and nowdays we see all types of contemporary incarnations of the standard version. Red pepper hummus, spinach hummus, hazlenut hummus and even pumpkin hummus. In any form, this is a very healthy snack for its constituent ingredients are all naturally, healthful items.
Here is my favourite recipe below:
Ingredients:
- 2 x cans chickpeas, washed and drained
- 2 x heaped tablespoon of tahini
- 15 x ‘turns’ of cracked black pepper
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 x cloves crushed or minced garlic
- A good splash of extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 2-3 x lemons
- A couple of shakes of cumin seeds
- A good sprinkle of turmeric
- A good sprinkle of smoked paprika
- Wholegrain mountain bread, pita or crackers.
- A twig of thyme to serve.
"HOW TO":
- Into your blender, add chickpeas, tahini, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, lemon and cumin seeds and blend into a smooth, creamy texture. Add a small amount of water if the consistency is too dry.
- Scoop out into a serving bowl and sprinkle with turmeric and paprika. Top with a twig of thyme and a few leftover chickpeas.
- Serve with wholegrain mountain bread, pita or crackers.
And that's it! Get amongst it guys...
