Tuesday, June 19

Recipe File: Raw Hummus

Yesterday I sang the praises of raw hummus. I was a huge salt fiend before I went raw. And whenever I wrestle my vehicle past a fast-food outlet, my mouth starts watering for more salt.

I usually resist, because by the time I get home to my salty hummus, the urge has pretty much passed. But when I really, really, truly want something salty, just knowing this is in my refrigerator at home is sufficient to get me over the bumps.

How do I make raw hummus? It’s scary simple, and incredibly cheap.

One of the fun things about assembling raw food is that nothing’s ever exact, and even if it were, it wouldn’t taste exactly the same each time.

That said, here’s an approximation of a recipe for raw hummus. Change it up a little and see what happens.

Equipment
A cup
A sprouter
A blender (or food processor)

Base Ingredients
1C dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
2C water
1/3C raw sesame seeds (raw tahini is tough to come by, and if your blender is good, it won't matter)
2T lemon juice

Optional ingredients
2T water if required for blending
1T cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
1 large floret of raw cauliflower (makes a slightly creamier texture)
1t ground cumin
1/2t Celtic sea salt

Capers
Paprika
Pine nuts
Sundried tomato
Artichoke heart
Asparagus
Chopped spinach
Coriander
Garlic
Jalapeno pepper
Pico de gallo
Red bell pepper

Instructions
1. Soak dried garbanzo beans (i.e., chickpeas) in water for about a day.

2. Discard water.

3. Pour beans in sprouter for about a day and a half to two days, until little sprouts appear (rinse twice a day to retain moisture).

4. At this point, some raw chefs blanch the sprouted beans in very hot water for half a minute to decrease the "green" flavor. I don't. It might just be the beans I buy, but my hummus doesn't seem to have any bitter or sour or green taste.

5. Toss the sprouted beans in the blender, along with remaining ingredients. (Most of the optional ingredients can be stirred in after blending.)

Eat up! Carrots, celery, snap peas, zucchini, jicama, bell pepper, cherry tomatos...hummus makes any of them just a little more edible!

5 comments:

  1. Hooray!! Thanks for the recipe. Question... Aren't artichoke hearts cooked?? I know the marinated ones are, that's for sure. But maybe you are using another kind?

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    Replies
    1. The marinated artichoke hearts are probably cooked. The raw ones, not so much.

      When I'm not working so hard to lose weight, I think I'll try marinating some raw artichoke hearts in cold-pressed EVOO and balsamic vinegar. How good does that sound?

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  2. Okay, this looks like a lot of work. Why can't you just used canned garbanzo beans? (Okay, I think I better duck and run now. . . )

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    Replies
    1. Well, you could. Or you could do it the REALLY easy way and put in a call to Pizza Hut for a hot grease pie. Canned food is pretty much always cooked.

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    2. Oh, good to know! I found my sprouting bag, so I will try it your way. . . .

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