Oh hi, there, all you keto/paleo folks. I see you.
Truthfully, I love carbs so much, that they will have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands. A gf of mine recently got diagnosed as celiac, and I gotta say, it’s one of my worst fears. Not able to eat bread??! Pasta??!? Ugh. Worst.
But I also acknowledge that I maybe, sometimes, can be a lazy vegetarian. That means falling back on grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwiches (both because they are quick, easy and comforting), or mac & cheese or pasta with (homemade) tomato sauce. Ie carb city.
I’m trying to be more aware of what I’m eating, I’m meal prepping more, so that I have healthy grab-and-go options rather than having to think when I’m hangry, and focusing more on whole vegetables and less carby grains. Which means I’m eating more quinoa and oats and less brown rice and noodles.
And holy hummus! I basically am living on the stuff! So traditional hummus is made from beans, usually specifically chickpeas, which are not considered to be paleo. However, cauliflower is the MVP of the paleo diet–it can be anything! Including, as it turns out, hummus.
Yep, that’s right, cauliflower hummus. It’s shockingly similar in texture and taste to regular hummus, the only thing is, it’s not as high in protein. Cauliflower only has 1.9g of protein per 100 grams, and chickpeas have 100x that!
By the way, in order for this to be truly paleo, you need to serve it with vegetables. Serving it with crackers or pita chips or whatever would make it not paleo. But again, you decide what you put in your body, k? I’ll just write the recipes. 😉
Simply put, this is like every other hummus you’ve probably made in your life. It has the same ingredients, it just basically swaps out the chickpeas for cauliflower. So if you can make regular hummus, you won’t find this cauliflower hummus much of a challenge.
Now let’s get ‘er done!
One note: hummus works best when you have a really good blender and you blend it a long time. Don’t be afraid to leave it in there a while. I have Ninja, and for most things, it’s great, but a Blendtec or a Vitamix would really shine here.
Cauliflower Hummus
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp za’atar (optional)
- 3 tbsp water
Method:
- Place the cauliflower florets and the garlic cloves in a bowl and drizzle with a tablespoon of the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Place on a sheet pan and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is pokable with a fork and has picked up some colour on the edges.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool enough so you can work with it.
- Place cauliflower in the blender with the tahini, spices, lemon juice and olive oil, and blend. Open the blender and scrape down the sides and blend again. If it’s still too thick and it’s not coming together smoothly, begin to drizzle water into the feed tube, a little at a time, until you get it to the right, creamy, hummus consistency. Taste and check for seasoning before serving.
