Hummus with sun-dried tomatoes

Sometimes I make myself hummus. I’m very fond of it. That day, though, I wasn’t particularly in the mood.

That morning I had a tomato salad and boasted to Kaja about how fit I was being these days. Kaja pointed out that while the salad was fine, it was missing carbs (I’d had the version without croutons) and something or other besides.

That got me thinking. I rummaged through the cupboard where I keep assorted tins (I like hunting down curious finds at the shops every now and then and buying them for no good reason, to use “someday” for “something as yet unspecified”) and found a tin of brown chickpeas.

Chickpeas only ever make me think of hummus. When I buy them (or stockpile them, as I’m doing now, since I bought rather a lot a while back), it’s really just for making that spread. I also recently acquired some completely new tahini (I’m showing it off in the photo below). Different from what I’d had before. The one I showed you when I made the standard version of hummus was much more like ground sesame seeds. The new one is basically sesame cream. More like honey than peanut butter.

So I asked Kaja if hummus would be a good way to make up those carbs and whatever else it was. Bingo. She said yes.

For supper (there was enough for breakfast too), I made a spread with brown chickpeas. My first time. With sun-dried tomatoes, too. You know what? This hummus was outstanding. I’m not afraid to say it. My primitive kitchen produces the odd pearl like that. This one deserves an ode from the greatest of bards.

In fact, I’m quite sure that when Adam Mickiewicz wrote in his “Steppes of Akkerman”:

Where the snake’s slick breast brushes the grass.

In such a silence, so keenly do I strain my ear,

That I could hear a voice from Lithuania. Let us go, no one calls.

he never meant for anyone to go anywhere. What he called out was “Jedzmy!” (“Let’s eat!”), and some intern added a little stroke over the Z by mistake, turning it into “Jedźmy!” (“Let’s go!”). Eat hummus with sun-dried tomatoes, of course (and it absolutely has to be made with brown chickpeas).

Truth be told, I’m not entirely sure whether brown chickpeas are especially different from the standard kind. If you know, do share. Meanwhile, I recommend this. A quick, healthy dish that tops up the carbs and whatever else it was.

PS

Sorry about the photos, as usual. Kaja really told me off about the quality. So you’ll have to make it yourselves to find out how outstanding it tastes. No photo (hmm?) could ever capture that.

At a glance: 

Prep time: 6 minutes

Serves: depends what you want it for. As a spread for bread, say, it’ll easily do for breakfast or supper for 2–3 people

Calories: it’s pure health, and pure health doesn’t count calories 😉

Ingredients for a quick, tasty tomato and rocket breakfast:

• a tin of brown chickpeas (the one I used is in the photo below)
• 6–7 sun-dried tomatoes
• a tablespoon of olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons of lime juice (mine was bottled, not freshly squeezed)
• a clove of garlic (Polish garlic)
• a tablespoon and a half of smooth, clear tahini (sesame paste. I used a different kind last time, but there’s a photo of my current one below because it’s lovely and creamy and I think it makes the hummus creamier too)
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Method (you’ll need a blender):

I pour the liquid from the tin of brown chickpeas into a glass (not all of it, though. I leave a little at the bottom so the chickpeas don’t dry out).

I put the chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, tahini, lime juice and olive oil into a tall plastic container. I add salt to taste and ground black pepper. I blend everything into a creamy paste (see the photo) for about 2–3 minutes.

Give it a taste before serving to see whether the hummus is “wet” enough. It mustn’t be too dry. If it is, add a little of the reserved chickpea liquid and blend again. If you use the proportions above, though, it should come out just right. All done. Enjoy!