Hummus – Chickpea Dip

Just give me a warm pitta bread and let me dive right in to a huge bowl of hummus. I literally cannot get enough of this delicious chickpea dip, ready in less than 5 minutes.

Shop bought hummus really just isn’t the same once you have tried making your own. And since all you have to do is throw the ingredients into a mixer and whizz away until smooth, you have no excuse. You only need to make the effort to measure things out and eat it, which really is no effort at all.

I fell in love with hummus even more during our trip to Rhodes. There was this lovely little restaurant right on the beach. They served a big bowl of hummus with a herby pitta bread on the side. I had it with lunch most days and to beat the post holiday blues, it was one of the first things I made on our return.

What is Hummus?

Hummus has become pretty popular around the world and in the UK, you will find it in most supermarkets.

Hummus is a Middle-Eastern dip made from cooked chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, which are blended with tahini; a sesame seed based ingredient, lemon juice and garlic.

Is it a vegan friendly dip with no added animal derivatives or products and whilst it can be quite high in calories, it is also very healthy, containing lots of unsaturated fats.

You can find endless variations of hummus such as this roasted red pepper hummus, Moroccan hummus, tomato hummus or sweet chilli hummus. Some hummus recipes are without tahini, for those with a sesame allergy or sensitivity. Whilst, others have other added spices, herbs and flavourings.

Hummus is most often served as a dip or in a sandwich or wrap. It is great with falafel and these falafel samosas are perfect for dipping.

You can also find it spelt many different ways, houmous, hommos, homous, houmos and houmus are all technically correct ways of spelling the name of this chickpea dip and there is no difference in the base ingredients no matter how it is spelt.

How to Make Hummus Without Tahini

Traditionally, tahini does add some of the flavour to hummus. But, there are many people who have a sensitivity or allergy to sesame products. Unfortunately, most commercial hummus dips contain tahini so it isn’t something that you can usually source easily in your local supermarket. Thankfully, even with a sesame allergy, you can still enjoy hummus when you make it at home. All you need to do to make tahini free hummus is leave it out! Add in a little water or extra oil to help retain the consistency that you desire. You can also use cashew or almond butter to retain the creamy texture of your hummus. Sunflower seed butter will also work well.

Recipe Tips

In this recipe I use canned chickpeas, be sure to drain and wash them before putting them in the blender. But, don’t throw away the chickpea water from the can, you can use it to make aquafaba, which is a great vegan substitute to eggs in some recipes.

You don’t need to peel the chickpeas. Removing the skins from the chickpeas will make your finished hummus ever so slightly more smooth but, in my opinion, there isn’t a noticeable difference, so save yourself the time and leave the skins on.

You can use dried chickpeas to make hummus too, if you’d prefer. You will, however need to factor in the time to rehydrate them. To rehydrate dried chickpeas, simply place them in a bowl with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and cover with cold water. Place them in the fridge overnight for around 12 hours, before use.

You can also rehydrate chickpeas on a stove, rinse the dry chickpeas thoroughly first, then place in a saucepan and fill the pan with water and a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Bring them to boil, then turn down the heat to medium and continue to boil for about an hour. Add more water as needed and skim the foam from the surface when necessary. Once the chickpeas are softened (they might need a little longer), rinse them thoroughly in cold water and use them in the same way as canned ones. To replace a 400g can of chickpeas, you want to use about 100g of dried chickpeas as a substitution.

To make the recipe less in calories, omit the oil or some of it and replace it with water.

Try making it with roasted garlic cloves for a slight variation in flavour. Follow this guide on how to roast garlic for more detail.

Add the oil in last. The heat of the spinning blades in a blender can sometimes cause a reaction in the oil and make it taste bitter. Be sure to add the ingredients in as stated to avoid this.

If your hummus is too thick, add in a little water or extra oil until you have reached your desired texture.

Hummus freezes well, you can freeze it in portion sizes and reconstitute, if needed, with a little oil stirred in, once defrosted.

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