Spiced Hummus Recipe

Hummus is the well-worn, reliable go-to in the world of healthy foods. Always a great snack, loved by many, good for you, doesn't offend vegans or coeliacs, present on many restaurant menus. Hummus is there for you when you need it.


If you're vegetarian or interested in healthy food, chances are you've made your own hummus. You know the drill: chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic & salt with many possible additions and variations. I'm a hummus lover, and when I taste a particularly tasty version, I try to recreate it at home and pinpoint the exact flavours that make other people's renditions of this ubiquitous middle eastern dip so delicious.

There's a great restaurant in Leamington Spa called Rhubarb. It gets top marks from me for atmosphere, and its hummus gets top marks, too. Honestly, I can't really taste any tahini to speak of in their dip - it tastes more like chickpeas, white beans, something salty and herby, maybe caraway seeds, probably some lemon juice and garlic...but can you call it hummus without tahini? Doesn't that turn it into 'bean dip'? Anyway, I've been trying to place this 'salty herby' quality and one day, when I was walking down the street, completely not near the restaurant and not eating hummus, a lightbulb went off: "bouillon!"

Ah, bouillon...you've saved me from culinary boredom time and time again. You make everything better. A bit of bouillon dissolved in water makes a great cooking liquid, not just for soup, but for anything where you need to splash some water in the pan. Or, if I'm cooking, say, a South Indian style broccoli, I might use water infused with cumin, coriander and fennel seeds to steam it in the pan (if I have that lying around, which I do because cumin/coriander/fennel also makes a great tea). What I'm saying is that when there's cooking liquid in a recipe, you can add some fabulous zing to your dish by using something more interesting than water. And since there's water in hummus to thin it out, why not dissolve some bouillon in the water? I'm talking about the good stuff, though. No cheap XO brand here. Perhaps something fresh from scratch or at least an organic brand that's tasty and full of flavour.


Back to hummus - the reason we're here. I replaced the water with vegetable stock and added a few Middle Eastern spices and here's what I've got so far. I'm sure the adventures in hummus tweaking will continue for many years.

Hummus with Spices and Herbs

2 cups cooked chickpeas
2-3 tablespoons of light tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 bouillon cube (approx. 1 - 1.5 teaspoons) dissolved in 2/3 cup hot water
1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
1/3 teaspoon paprika
1/3 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
drizzle of high quality olive oil
salt (you may not need any) and fresh milled pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas with tahini and lemon juice. Blend well. Then add everything else and blend again until it's all well combined, a minute or two. Pause a few times to scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl. Taste for lemon, salt and spice and adjust as necessary.
When you've blended it well, scoop out into a bowl; drizzle with a bit more olive oil, a dusting of paprika and a few bits of parsley if you like. Serve with pitta bread, corn chips, vegetable sticks, over a salad or on wholegrain bread.