Hummus

I love cookbooks! Even if I know I will never try the recipes I love looking through them. A beautifully presented cookbook, with stunning images will keep me returning to flick through its pages again and again. My most recent addition to my growing collection is Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward (details will be at the end of the post). All the recipes are dairy and gluten free harnessing the goodness of plants. The recipes are healthy and simple to cook. However, and it is a rather big but, I would say the majority use nuts in some form. This may be nut butters, nut based milks or raw nuts. As a nut free household this means many of the recipes will be adapted to suit our needs. I’m replacing any nut based milk with oat milk and nut butters with dairy free spread. This will undoubtedly change the taste and sometimes finished outcome, but as many allergy sufferers know it is something you get used to.

The first recipe I tried out was for basic hummus. Little one loves hummus. In a sandwich, as a dip with breadsticks or straight from the pot! Hummus contains tahini paste which is made from sesame seeds. Tahini is a natural source of calcium, so hummus is a winner if you have a dairy free diet. Sesame seeds can be an allergen so watch out if you’re trying this with a baby under one.

The beauty of this recipe is that it makes a massive batch which you can freeze. I have enough portions in my freezer for a month! Also, once you have made the basic recipe you can add different flavours. Ella recommends beetroot or roasted red pepper. I reckon you could add whatever you like as long as it isn’t too wet, otherwise it may change the consistency.

Ingredients

2 x 400g tin of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
10 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp tahini paste
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Chuck all the ingredients into a food processor.
2. Add 3 tbsp of water and blend until smooth. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl to mix evenly. Keep blending until you reach the desired consistency. This will all depend on the power of your processor.
4. Portion out into airtight containers. It should keep for a week in the fridge and up to a month in the freezer.

Important bits

Dairy, egg, nut and gluten free
Freezeable
Total make time less than 30 minutes
Makes one large bowl

Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward (Yellow Kite, ISBN 978-1-444-79500-4)