I love to make my own hummus, it’s much simpler than you think and takes no time at all. You can flavour it how ever you like it once you know the basic recipe! This little number was served with home-made purple skinned sweet potato chips. Try it, it will totally change your life forever …

Hummus Ingredients:

2 cups chick peas, cooked
2-3 tablespoons hulled tahini
Juice of 2-3 lemons
1-1½ cups extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Put everything into a blender and blend to a smooth paste – yes, it really is that simple!! You may like less lemon juice or more oil, add these slowly once you get it blending so you get a feel/taste for how you prefer it.

There are options of course, I like to sometimes use dried chickpeas, soak overnight then simmer gently for two hours with a few bay leaves till al-dente. Sometimes I use low/zero salt tinned cooked chick peas. When you compare the amount of salt on the ingredients, you will be surprised with the % of salt. Some companies are now making them with zero salt, which is very groovy.

In this version, I added a handful of toasted pine nuts and a few teaspoons of lemon Dukkah, an Egyptian/Mediterranean spice mix that I love and it doesn’t have much salt. It’s great with lamb, fish and vegetables and adds that va-va-voom with minimal effort! You could also make your own if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s not much too it … give it a whirl!

Sweet Potato Chips Ingredients:

1 purple skinned sweet potato
¼ cup olive, macadamia or nut oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 220ºC. Line a large baking tray with foil.

Wash and remove any residue from the sweet potato. Finely slice into shapes you like. The one I had was quite large so I sliced it in half first.

Add the oil and pepper to the tray and then toss the sweet potato in the oil with your fingers, making sure all the pieces are coated with oil. They don’t have to be a single layer, but spread them out evenly over the tray.

Pop into the oven for 30 minutes and don’t open! Allow them to get hot hot hot.

Toss gently after 30 minutes and put them back in for another 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the second 20 mins as they may need to come out earlier depending on the heat in your oven.

The hummus will keep in the fridge for 7-ish days and the chips will store in an air-tight container in the pantry for 4-ish days.

Have fun with the flavours – add chopped olives or paprika to the hummus, add chilli to the sweet potato! A little note … I haven’t tried the chips with orange sweet potato – you would need to watch them like a hawk in the oven because they have a tendency to brown very quickly …

Enjoy! Love, Sarah