For some reason, many people tend to buy dips rather than make them. A few years ago I used to do the same thing. It just never occurred to me that I could easily make my own.

Now I wouldn’t have it any other way — dips are one of the easiest and cheapest things to make. Besides, you get to choose what you put into it — and avoid all the chemicals and fillers, of course!

Hummus is one of my stock standard dips to make. Made mainly with chickpeas, it’s both nourishing and satisfying. Use it to jazz up meals or enjoy as a healthy snack over the week.

Recipe

There are many versions of the humble hummus. This is my favourite way of making it. I find it’s all about getting the amount of lemon juice right.

Serves 6–8, as a snack; Makes about 2 cups

Prep & cooking time: 15 minutes

This dip is gluten, dairy and grain free. It is also vegan.

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzos), or 1 x 425 g (15 oz) can chickpeas (I prefer the BPA-free Eden Organic brand)
• 2 tbsp hulled tahini (100% sesame seed butter)
• 3 tbsp (45 ml/1.5 oz) extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon (~3–4 tbsp), or to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup (60 ml/2 oz) filtered water
• salt, to taste

Dry toast cumin seeds in a pan over gentle heat until fragrant.

Grind toasted cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle.

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, or leave some chunky pieces of chickpeas if you like.

Taste and adjust to your liking, adding more salt, lemon or tahini if needed.

Serve as much as you think you need (see suggestions below), you can always top the serving if running low. This way the left overs will not be contaminated and will be safe to store in the fridge.

Keeps in fridge for 4–5 days.

Variations:

• Instead of chickpeas, try other cooked legumes, like cannellini beans, mung beans or cooked brown lentils. These options (especially mung benas and brown lentils) are also good alternatives for those who find chickpeas difficult to digest.
• Add a handful of coriander for a fresh, herby dip
• Add a roasted red pepper for some sweet, roasted smokiness — roast pepper at 180C/355F (160C/320F fan-forced) for 30–40 minutes until soft and slightly blackened. Then remove from oven, place in a brown paper bag to cool, peel off the skin and remove the stem and seeds before processing it with the other ingredients.

9 ways to devour your hummus:

1. as a dip for veggie crudités — such as carrot, capsicum, cucumber and celery
2. as a dip for real crackers like Mary’s Gone Crackers or dehydrated vegetable crackers, like this one
3. as condiment for roasted meat — would go nicely with lamb
4. serve with salads
5. spoon over steamed veggies, like asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and carrot
6. dollop over grilled and roasted veggies like pumpkin, sweet potato, red peppers and eggplant
7. splodge over stuffed veggies and pilafs
8. spread in sandwiches, wraps and on toast
9. use it in sushi rolls