Hummus - Basic Reduced Fat

We eat a lot of hummus in this house. Hummus has become our go to sandwich spread. I make a lot of different variations of hummus depending on my mood. There is my roasted red pepper, garlic and sweet paprika hummus, also my roasted garlic hummus, and my roasted red pepper and smoked paprika hummus. There are many other hummus variations that I have yet to put on the blog. They will all get posted eventually.

Most of my humus recipes have little or no fat and this is not exception. After reading the book “Life Over Cancer” we have been trying to keep our fat percentage down to about 13% overall, with most of that being omega 3 fat. In order to achieve a fat percentage that low it is imperative to keep the fat down on the hummus. Commercial varieties of hummus can get 50% or more of their calories from fat. Sure, they taste good, but that much fat isn’t necessary. This recipe is my attempt to keep the fat down but still maintain a little richness from the tahini.

Hummus - Basic Reduced Fat
Makes 3 ½ cups

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried garbanzo beans, cooked (cooking water saved)
2 tablespoons of tahini
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of cumin seed
¼ teaspoon of coriander seed
¼ teaspoon of sweet paprika
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ¼ cups of bean cooking liquid (added a little at a time – see directions)

Directions:

Cook the garbanzo beans until very tender. Drain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid to use later in the recipe. Make the hummus while the beans are still warm. This is one of the secrets to a smooth hummus without a lot of added fat from olive oil and tahini.

Into the food processor place everything but the bean cooking liquid. Process to combine the ingredients. Add the cooking liquid ¼ cup at a time and continue to process checking the hummus consistency. Remember that the hummus will firm up in the refrigerator so you may want to make it a little thinner than you think you would like in the end.

Refrigerate in a covered container. This will last at least 5 days in the refrigerator.

If you want to serve as part of a mezze spread, swirl the top of the hummus to create grooves. Pour a little extra virgin olive oil on top so that it puddles in the swirl. Sprinkle the top with sweet paprika, toasted pine nuts and chopped fresh parsley.

Nutritional Information (per ¼ cup serving):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 66.54
Calories From Fat (26%) - 17.18

Total Fat - 2.05g
Saturated Fat - 0.25g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 139.72mg
Potassium - 143.88mg
Total Carbohydrates - 9.47g
Fiber - 2.67g
Sugar - 1.57g
Protein - 3.21g

Comments:

This is my basic reduced fat hummus. The secret to getting the hummus creamy with just two tablespoons of fat (tahini) is making the hummus while the beans are still warm. I don’t know why this works, but it makes a big difference in the creaminess of the hummus.

The flavor of this hummus is mild so that you can mix it with many different ingredients on crackers, cucumber rounds (my favorite) or sandwiches. I even use this as the base of a roasted vegetable pizza to keep the veggies from sliding off when you eat it.