Happy International Hummus Day!

Yes, apparently that’s an actual thing. Who comes up with this stuff? It’s awesome!

As a lover of hummus, I figured it would be rude not to get involved in the celebrations… so I whipped up a little batch of my Nigella-inspired nutty hummus! Usually when you’re making hummus, you add tahini (or sesame butter) to it – but in this recipe, instead of seed butter, we’re going with my kitchen staple nut butter! And when hummus and nuts collide, it’s a damn fine thing I tell ya!

I used 100% chunky peanut butter in this recipe, but it would work with almond butter too. Whatever you do though, try to make sure that you’re using 100% nut butter – it does limit your choice to just a few brands on the supermarket shelves, but you skip a whole heap of sugar, salt and added oil nasties that you don’t need.

Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients (makes three portions)

Nutty hummus for International Hummus Day

• 1 tin (400g) chickpeas
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp crunchy (or smooth if you prefer) peanut butter
• 1 tbsp cashew nuts
• Lemon juice (I used a whole lemon, but use as much as you need)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1-3 tsp garlic powder (more if you prefer it garlicky)
• Chilli flakes if you like it hot
• salt
• small amount of water if needed (or you could use Greek yoghurt to thin it out)

Chuck all the ingredients into the food processor and blitz it up. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, if it’s too thick and stodgy for you, or add in some Greek yoghurt for a creamier version. You could also add more lemon juice or soy sauce to loosen it.

To serve, drizzle with either a little more olive oil or sesame oil, or hoisin sauce, or sprinkle paprika over. Eat with a big salad for lunch, spread on a wholemeal pita bread with cucumber slices, dip carrots and other crudites in for kicks, or just eat with a spoon!

And have a happy hummus day! I wonder what other yummy food days they’ll dream up next…. International Day of Cheese? Mmmmmmm……