Weekend Cooking: A World of Hummus Recipes

  

A week long race results in a lot of hungry very hungry runners and volunteers.  Fresh foods go a long way in helping to fill all those hollow legs (my mother often said we must have had hollow legs when we were growing up and eating so much).  Over the course of the past few summers, one of the most popular dishes has been hummus. Not just your traditional chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic combination, but a range of flavourful and imaginative ones.  This years assortment really hit the spot.  I whipped up eleven different flavours.  A few are repeats of favourites from previous years, but most of them are new to me. 

 



Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Avocado Hummus

 

As you can see, hummus with any flavour never lasted long and there was rarely any left to take home to my family.

 

Carrot Hummus and Beet Hummus

 

 Flavours of hummus Served during the ENDURrun 2012

Recipes follow further in this post, or I have added a link to a previous post.

 

Traditional Hummus

Artichoke Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Avocado Hummus

Sweet Potato Hummus

Black Olive Hummus

Lime-Cilantro Hummus

Pecan-Apricot Hummus

Carrot Hummus

Beet Hummus

Orange Hummus

 

Black Olive Hummus and Sweet Potato Hummus

Orange Hummus



Clockwise from bottom left: Beet Hummus, Pecan-Apricot Hummus, Lime-Cilantro Hummus, Orange Hummus, and Black Olive Hummus 

Artichoke Hummus
(adapted from a recipe at The Food Network)

2 - 6oz jars of artichoke hearts, drained
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cups chick peas
1/4 cup tahini
2 tbsp olive oil (optional)

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.  You may need to add water.  The olive oil helps to make a creamy spread.  Add salt and pepper to flavour as desired.

Avocado Hummus

Make the traditional hummus recipe as shown above, and add the flesh of two ripe avocados.  This will require quite a bit of mixing to incorporate them.  Be sure to scrape down the inside of the food processor several times to ensure you don't have lumps of avocado.

Black Olive Hummus
from Pinch My Salt

This is a fairly salty dish, though you can vary the saltiness by using a different type of olive.  I used a Kalmata olive spread which happens to be quite salty.  The runners loved the saltiness as this helped with re-balancing their electrolytes.

3 cups chick peas, rinsed
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup black olives

Put all items in the bowl of your food processors and mix until smooth.  You might need to add some water.  I used a 6 oz jar of Kalmata olive spread that I bought at Sobeys.  For a less salty version you could use the large canned black olives rinse them before adding them to the processor bowl.  Be sure that the olives are free of pits.  The original recipe called for 2 cups of chickpeas, but I felt it was too salty at that level and a nicer texture with the additional cup.

Pecan- Apricot Hummus
from A Bicycle Built for Two

1 cup chick peas, rinsed
1 cup raw pecans
4 dried apricots
3 pitted Medjool dates
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp agave or honey

I put everything in the blender together.  I didn't bother pre-chopping the apricots or dates, but if your fruit is quite dry, then it might be a good idea.  If you want to make this a vegan dish, then use the agave.  I used honey as I didn't realize this and one of our vegan runners kindly explained that honey is a animal product.  oops.  I added a fair bit of water to thin this to a nice consistency.  I served it with fresh apple slices.  Great idea for on a dessert platter with fruit and cheese.

Carrot Hummus
From Once Upon a Cutting Board

1 cup sliced carrots, cooked
2 cups chick peas, rinsed
1/4 cup tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tbsp agave or honey
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
2 tbsp olive oil

Peel and slice carrots.  Cook in a small amount of water till tender.  Drain, saving the cooking water.  Put all ingredients, except the cooking water in the bowl of the food processor and mix until smooth.  Add some of the cooking water as required to get the consistency you like.

Beet Hummus
from Eat Right Ontario

3 medium beets, washed, leave skin on
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion- diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 cup chick peas
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Cook beets in a large pot of boiling water for 40 minutes or until tender. When cooled, peel beets and roughly chop. Set aside. Can be done 1 day in advance.
2. In a medium fry pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and cumin and cook, stirring often, until onions are soft, 5-10 minutes.
3. Add beets, onion mixture, chickpeas, tahini, water and lemon juice to a food processor and puree until smooth.
4. Serve immediately or store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Orange Hummus
from Company's Coming - printable recipe at this link

4 cups chick peas
3/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp dry coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
3 garlic cloves crushed
1/3 cup tahini
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce (optional)

Put all ingredients in the bowl of the food processor and mix until smooth.  You might need to add some water to get the desired consistency.  I didn't add the soy sauce as mine had gluten and I wanted to keep this dish gluten free.  This definitely tasted better after it had sat overnight and the flavours had a chance to mingle.

Peach Salsa

 This year I suggested that we try fresh salsa.  We hadn't served it before and didn't know how it would go, but I shouldn't have worried, fresh fruit and veggies are always a hit and the bowl was emptied each day.  All of my recipes came from 300 Best Taco Recipes by Kelley Cleary Coffeen.  I reviewed this book in an earlier post, though at that time, I only tried one of the salsas.  I'm glad I tried more of them, as they are all very tasty and easy to make.

 

Recipes made during the ENDURrun:

 

Pico de Gallo (tomato)

Veggie Salsa (corn and zucchini)

Peach and Red Onion Salsa (recipe to follow)

Sweet Pineapple Salsa

Margarita Melon Salsa

Citrus Salsa

 

Peach and Red Onion Salsa

 

6 peaches, peeled and diced

1 red onion, diced

juice of 2 limes

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 jalapenos, diced

1/2 cup chopped jicama

 

In a large bowl, gently combine peaches, red onion, lime juice, bell pepper, jalapenos, and jicama.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or for up to 2 hours.  I didn't use the jicama as I couldn't find it at my grocery stores.

 

Links to other popular recipes:

 

Broccoli Buffet Salad

Baked Quinoa with Sweet Potatoes and Almonds

Raw Vegan Carob Pecan Biscotti

Key Lime Pie - gluten and dairy free

 

 

Next week I hope to post the dessert recipes from Julie Schmidt, the chocolate layers dessert from Wednesday evening and the chocolate almond cracker bars.

 

For more foodie fun, be sure to visit Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking post. You are invited to add a link to your recent food related post.