The Humble Hummus

Now by no means is hummus a minor dish in the kitchen it is actually a very versatile dish.

The original recipe is chickpeas, tahini, garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil, all processed together until a smooth paste. But the variations are many and varied. Miss Fish has brought home tins on mixed chickpeas and corn kernels which have been sitting in my cupboard while I pondered what to do with them.

After reading Not Quite Nigellas recipe for hummus using a can of 4 bean mix, I thought mmmm why don't I do the same using one of the cans of chickpea/ corn combo, and I did.

http://www.notquitenigella.com/2011/08/05/easiest-four-bean-hummus/

The result was a very creamy hummus without a hint of the corn. So I got thinking could hummus be made with any type of tinned bean, yes it can my corn/chickpea combo worked at treat. A quick search on the Internet found many varied recipes using a variety of ingredients from

pumpkin

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/15798/pumpkin-humus

rocket

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/15795/rocket-and-mint-houmus

and even zucchini

http://courant.typepad.com/raw/2008/04/hummus-without.html

Now you don't have to only use hummus as a dip, spread it on warm souvlaki wraps place on you favourite salad ingredients like lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and even some crumbled feta then top with cooked lamb cubes or slices of roast lamb a squeeze of lemon juice, then roll it up and enjoy.

You can even replace the lamb with slices of chicken which have been cooked with slivers of red capsicum and slices of onion. Once again smear some hummus over warmed souvlaki wraps top with sliced lettuce then the chicken mixture, perhaps a dollop of greek yoghurt, roll up and eat.

There are many ways to enjoy hummus only your imagination holds you back. So next time you go to pick up a container of hummus from the supermarket shelf, think again go to the tinned bean isle grab a tin, get a jar of tahini - it last forever in the cupboard, then go home and whizz up a batch. When you taste it you will wonder why you didn't make your own all the time.

Now I processed mine in the little processor I have for my bamix blender, but you can use a normal blender, a mortar and pestle or even grate the garlic into a bowl use a fork to mask the beans the mix the other ingredients in well.

I also don't add olive oil, but if you find your hummus is a bit dry add a little oil.

Hummus

1 can of beans drained, 2 cloves garlic, 1 heaped dessertspoon of tahini, juice of 1 lemon approx 1 tbsp, 1/2 tsp salt

Process in any of the ways mentioned above, taste add more salt or lemon juice as needed.