Tuesday 16 July 2013

Lemony & Zingy - Your Minimalist Houmous

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How beautiful is summer?  I bet that your weekends are action packed with BBQs, garden parties and delicious, mouth watering food.  Which is why I thought that I would share this little crowd pleaser with you.  I love home comforts and outdoor house parties are perfect if you can only cope with a garden party .  When you choose to take your party outdoors (and why not, it's not every year that summer arrives in London); you may decide to add houmous to the menu.  If you do, say no to the supermarket branded varieties and pick this little beauty instead.  It's a multiple winner for taste and nutrition.

I first came across this recipe in a cute little French recipe book.  I decided to try it out and have had several requests for the recipe since.  It's so easy to make and so intensely zingy you will be pleasantly pleased at it's intense flavour when matched with cool cucumber or celery sticks. You cannot go wrong with this unique taste of chickpea goodness!  

Nutrition tip: when you make your own houmous, you have control of how much oil gets added to the final recipe.  YOU are therefore always in control of what you eat.


INGREDIENTS

3 fat garlic cloves
Large pinch of salt
400g chickpeas from a tin (drained, but reserve the liquid)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons tahini paste
Olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons


DIRECTIONS

1. Add the chickpeas into a blender and blend with approximately 1/4 of the juice from the tin.
2. Finely chop the garlic cloves then using your knife, mix in the the pinch of salt.
3. Add the salted garlic, paprika, cumin and tahini paste into the blended chickpeas.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and blend.
4. Add more of the drained liquid and olive oil until you achieve a smooth, creamy paste.
5. Finally add the juice of two lemons and blend well.
5. Serve with freshly chopped parsley and pomegranate for a burst of colour.

Enjoy!  



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