Tina’s Hummus
This was one of the first recipes to be included in the book and it’s still one of my favourites. Tina and I gravitated toward each other in prenatal yoga class because our due dates were one day apart. We both went hugely overdue and our kids were born two days apart (and two weeks late). Her big fear was of tearing during labour, mine was having a C-section. She tore, I had a C-section, we both survived…
1 can (19 oz/540 ml) chickpeas
6 tbsp virgin or extra-virgin olive oil (with olive oil the more virgin the better!)
4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (or concentrate is fine too)’
1/4 cup tahini
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Cayenne to taste
c. 1/4 cup water
Drain and rinse the chickpeas (apparently with tinned beans when you rinse off that gloopy, opaque liquid they’re packed in you’re also rinsing off a lot of the salt, which is good). Place the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, salt and cayenne, and process until smooth, adding water until you reach your desired consistency. Makes 3 cups.
Variations: You can totally adapt this to your taste, we’re big garlic fans in our house so I’ll often add extra. You can also try a splash of hot pepper sauce or substitute black beans for the chickpeas.
Hummus is super versatile. Use it as a dip for baby carrots, celery, pita bread or corn chips. Try is as a sandwich spread, or spread inside a pita bread stuffed with cucumber, tomato and lettuce. I also like dipping cheese toast into hummus.