Hummus now has its own aisle at the grocery store. There’s dessert hummus and plenty of brands and flavors to choose from. While the grocery store purchase is a quick grab and go snack, it's so easy to make hummus at home at a fraction of the cost, while also maximizing flavor and tailoring it to your liking. Below you will find three recipes for my version of hummus, using red lentils, white beans or chickpeas, which yields about 1.25 quarts or 5 cups. This is a filling and nutritious snack or meal accompaniment with no preservatives or added unessential ingredients.
LENTIL HUMMUS
- Preparation:
- Sprout a pint (2 cups) of the beans or legumes by soaking them overnight.
- Drain the water off and allow to sit at room temperature with access to air.
- Rinse them once each day, straining off excess liquid each time you rinse.
- The lentils should sprout in 24-48 hours from draining, while white beans and chickpeas will take 48-72 hours to sprout.
- Tip: You want to catch the seeds when you just start to see a sprout bulge. This is the optimal time for us to consume them because your digestive system will treat them like easier to digest vegetables, rather than the discomfort and digestive challenge that comes with beans and legumes without sprouting. The other advantage of sprouting is that cooking takes a fraction of the time ;)
- For each you will need:
- Sizable heavy bottom pot
- 2-4 quart Tupperware container for storage
- Large spoon
- Blender-Vitamix preferred for the smoothness factor
- Spatula
- Mixing bowl
- Black peppercorns
- 1/2 onion
- Chili flakes or oil
- Salt
- Olive oil
- Tahini
- Lemon
- Ground Cumin
- Instructions:
- Bring your choice of bean or legume to a boil with the 1/2 onion, chili flakes/oil, and 8-10 black peppercorns.
- For lentils simmer for 10 minutes if sprouted, 10-15 if not sprouted (no need to soak overnight).
- For white beans, 30-45 minutes if sprouted, an hour plus if not sprouted (soak overnight).
- For chickpeas, 45 minutes to an hour if sprouted, 2 plus hours if not sprouted (soaked overnight, add a pinch of baking soda to speed things up).
- Tip: Beans or chickpeas can be soaked for several hours at room temperature in warm water to speed up the process.
- Strain off all liquid, reserving 2 tbsp.
- Once you have cooked your choice bean or legume, cool completely.
- Add half to the blender with a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp cooking liquid, 4 tbsp olive oil, a tsp of tahini, juice of half a lemon and a generous pinch of toasted ground cumin.
- Blend until smooth and enjoy as a dip, thinned out as a dressing for salad, as a spread on a sandwich or wrap, on a spoon to dip into something crunchy such as puffed rice or popped corn, as an alternate pizza or flatbread sauce, the list goes on!
The Radical Larder's chef, Meagan Lombaer in Chicago, recently turned plant-based due to environmental impact and growing dependence on animal products. She creates hearty dishes that center around whole foods and wholesome nutritional properties while avoiding highly processed toxic foods. She most enjoys pairing her food with movement and helping you integrate your diet with the movement you do in your life. Follow her on Facebook or Instagram @radlarder or come out to the Logan Square Farmer's Market every other Sunday starting June 3! For private events, cooking classes and other catering opportunities email radlarder@gmail.com.