It is impossible to be the mother of a small child and not have explored many permutations of hummus. It is nutritious, an excellent vehicle for getting veggies into kids without too much protestation and incredibly easy to whip up when 5 minutes is all that stands between a pleasant afternoon and a hunger induced conniption fit (I am speaking of myself here, not of L.).
Besides traditional hummus where I soaked dried chickpeas and then braised them and the damn recipe took 24 hours from start to finish and I coudn't tell the difference from hummus made with canned chickpeas, I have made many, many varieties of the stuff. Vats of normal hummus with tahini, Moroccan spiced carrot hummus (OK), smoky beet hummus (OK), edamame hummus (excellent and a bonus recipe post at some point if I can find my recipe), parsnip hummus (a disaster), pumpkin hummus (even worse), peanut butter hummus (thank you Nigella but nope, tasted weird) and Thai hummus (what was I thinking) to name but those that spring to mind.
My 2 absolute favorites (besides the edamame hummus) are listed below - hummus with pumpkin seed oil (see photo) and hummus with Old Bay seasoning. As I said in the title, completely inauthentic (but delicious). And, if you don't have 5 minutes to make your own, make sure that you lay in a supply of Trader Joe's three layer hummus. It is the hummus equivalent of crack and I cannot be trusted alone with a tub of the stuff.
Pumpkin Seed Oil Hummus
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 Tbsp tahini
2 tsps rice wine vinegar (possibly more at the end according to taste)
2 tsps pumpkin seed oil
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt to taste
Pumpkin seeds and 2 tsps pumpkin seed oil to drizzle on top.
Dump everything in a bowl and mash away with a potato masher. Done. Don't forget to top with the seeds and extra oil before serving. Serve with pita chips or raw veggies. If you like your hummus smoother use a blender.
Makes about a cup.
Old Bay Hummus
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 Tbsp tahini
Juice and zest from one lemon
1 Tbsp Old Bay
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp hot sauce
1 Tsps chopped coriander
Salt to taste
Dump everything in a bowl and mash away with a potato masher. Done. Serve with pita chips or raw veggies. If you like your hummus smoother use a blender.
makes about a cup.
Based on a hummus recipe on popsugar.com, here. Suggestion: mute the slightly annoying video as soon as the page loads and just read the text.