Oh hummus. It just might be the most perfect food.
Let’s recap:
- It’s entirely plant-based
- It’s cheap
- It’s full of protein
- It’s full of fibre
- There are a million different variations.
Yeah! Hummus is freakin’ amazing!
I can’t prove this without doing a bunch of work (and I’m too lazy for that), but my guess is, hummus is the recipe I have made more of for this blog than anything else. Let’s see… there was Roasted Squash Hummus, a lovely pink Roasted Beet Hummus, a pale green Edamame Hummus, and even Chocolate Dessert Hummus! Oh yeah, and then there was the time I tried the Hummus Milkshake.
I feel like I need this shirt:
Okay. I think we’ve safely established my love for hummus. Let’s get on to the task at hand.
I’m playing with lentils a lot this week, and there will be more lentil recipes forthcoming. The thing about hummus, is that you can make it with basically any kind of pulses. People tend toward lighter beans, because the colour is more pleasing, but you could technically make hummus with black beans or kidney beans. Most people use chickpeas or cannelini beans because the flavour is a little more neutral, too, so you can make the hummus taste however you want.
I’ve been exploring Persian and middle eastern flavours quite a lot lately. I was cooking from Bottom of the Pot for a while, and there’s this Persian Market in West Van that I am visiting now once a week. They have a great selection of middle eastern ingredients, and I buy them because I’m curious. Barberry, halva, lavash bread… and harissa.
Harissa is a paste made from roasted chilies blended with garlic and spices. I get mine at the Persian Market in a tube, similar to how you’d buy tomato paste or anchovy paste. It’s spicy and smoky, and a little goes a long way.
It’s great on potatoes, mixed with oil (kinda like Patatas Bravas), mixed in with mayo for a spicy dip or sandwich spread, or folded into scrambled eggs.
Here, I used it to kick up my hummus.
The weird thing about red lentils, is, they are quite orange when you buy them in the store, but they basically turn white or beige after cooking. So I thought I’d enhance the redness of the hummus (and also add a touch of sweetness) by adding roasted red peppers.
The end result is a dip that’s a little sweet, a little smoky, and a little spicy. Yee-haw!
Red Lentil and Harissa Hummus {Vegan}
Ingredients
- 1 cup split red lentils
- water
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp harissa paste
- 2 roasted red peppers (jarred)
- 2 tbsp–1/4 cup water or aquafaba
Method
- First, quickly rinse the lentils, then you need to cook them. I did mine in the instant pot, by adding the lentils, garlic, some salt, and 1/2-1 cup water to the bottom of the pot, and then cooking on manual for 4 minutes. If you don’t want to cook them in the instant pot, you can just add the lentils and garlic to about 3 cups of water on top of the stove. Bring to a boil, then simmer till the water is absorbed. You can even strain the lentils if there is too much water and the lentils themselves are cooked.
- Once the lentils are cooked, add all the ingredients except for the water to your blender or food processor. Process and scrape down the bowl. With the motor running, begin to slowly stream in the water or aquafaba, until your hummus gets to the desired, creamy consistency.
