I have a million vegan and gluten-free cookbooks and of those one million cookbooks, they have 1000’s of hummus recipes. That must mean I’ve gone through about a billion hummus recipes and funny enough, after all this time, none have made me totally happy.
So today I set out to make a crazy delicious and creamy gluten-free and vegan hummus recipe and one that can have some instant, flavourful variations made to it too. Served in sandwiches, with crackers or chopped veggies this is a versatile, healthy, high protein dip that no one tires of.
We’re going to start with the 1st step and that is the tahini. I can’t stress enough that it is critical to use only RAW tahini, not roasted (sesame seed) tahini. Roasted tahini will change the flavour of the hummus completely and will also remove some of the health benefits of the tahini (sesame seed butter). You also want to buy the best quality and organic one and stir the container of tahini well to incorporate all the oil that may have floated to the top before use. See the health benefits of sesame seeds by clicking here.
Here’s my basic recipe. Please note that the steps to make it are very important to follow to get a perfectly delicious hummus.
HUMMUS (Basic)
⅓ cup organic lemon juice
⅓ cup organic tahini (well stirred)
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp yellow miso
¼ cup extra virgin organic olive oil
1- 15 ounce can of organic chick peas also known as garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed well)
1 Tbsp water
choose one of these spices to optionally add:
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp red chili flakes
paprika
pinch ground black pepper
Additional flavour options to add-in:
lime juice (substitute for lemon juice)
jalapeño peppers (1 tsp)
fresh cilantro (1 Tbsp)
fresh basil (1 Tbsp)
roasted red peppers (⅛ cup)
1. Place lemon juice and tahini in a food processor and process until smooth. The last time I made it I had to use my Vitamix blender as I didn’t have my food processor with me. It still worked great! Be sure to use a spatula and scrape down the sides every 10 – 20 seconds or so. We want the lemon juice and tahini to become very smooth, creamy and whipped.
2. Add the sea salt, yellow miso, and olive oil and blend for a further minute or so until well incorporated and all the while still scraping the sides of the food processor every 10 seconds or so.
3. Add the drained and rinsed chick peas now and process for a minute – if it looks to thick, add a little more olive oil and/or a Tbsp of water.
4. Herbs, flavours and spices can be added now and you can pulse the processor for 5 or 6 times to incorporate (about 10 seconds total). I love the flavour of red chili flakes (spicy) through my hummus and with added roasted red peppers (⅛ cup of roasted red peppers). Or try a ¼ tsp of cumin and that keeps the hummus tasting very Mediterranean. Maybe you might want to add lime juice instead of lemon juice with an added ½ tsp of jalapeños (not a ton) makes the hummus taste fresh and exciting. I’ve been known to add fresh basil or cilantro and again, hummus is so flexible and forgiving you can experiment any way you want.
If you make enough of this, it can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container. It’s a perfect lunch sandwich when paired with avocado, tomatoes and cucumber or an in-between meal snack with some organic celery sticks. I’ve even put it on gluten-free toast for breakfast…. it’s the perfectly powered protein ingredient.
A happy body makes a happy life,
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