Does anyone have a hummus or falafel recipe they wouldn’t mind sharing? I know that hummus is probably really easy to make but the only time I tried it was foul and it’s kinda scared me off trying it again but DD is going through a phase of slight hummus addiction and I’d love to be able to make some for her rather than buying it for all sorts of reasons (plus I’ve recently become essentially vegan and hummus is one of the things I love!) I’d also really like to try and make my own falafel’s but have no idea where to start. Cooking is not my strong point so I’d really appreciate some help!

OH howI love my hummous! I don’t mean ‘MY’ hummous, well y’know…

Ok, get a tin of chickpeas or equivolent dried, soaked, boiled amount. Drain them and give them a rinse. Put them in the blender or bowl and stick blend them with; a clove of garlic or more if you prefer, a whole lemon’s juice, a tsp of salt and a tsp of black pepper and then keep adding olive oil until it looks like porridge. That’s the way I do it and the simplest way I can think to explain how to do it. If I cna make it, anyone can! Happy hummous-ing!

That’s tahini-free houmous… But really gunna try that because K *loves* houmous (so do I), but it brings her out in hives if she eats it. I’ve no idea what she is allergic to, but it’s most likely going to be the tahini (sesame seeds), so that recipe seems a good one for us to try

Sorry, yes, I didn’t say, I hate tahini, it isn’t in all recipes, so I just leave it out. You can add some greek yogurt to it too, that sort of lightens it up and makes the last knockings go further in a dip related emergency!

I adore hummus, especially home-made.  I struggled for ages to find a combination that I was happy with, but this is my favourite:

Can drained chickpeas (hang on to the water), Juice of 1 lemon, 2tbsp tahini, pinch of salt, large clove garlic and a good slug of olive oil
Blitz it all in a food processor until smooth.  You can add more olive oil or some of the reserved chickpea water to loosen it if you need to.

Even though I always stick to this recipe it is different every time, but always delicious.

Another hummus variation!

1 can of chickpeas, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of tahini, 1 tablespoon of oil (i use sunflower) salt/pepper, juice of a lemon and a little water to give it a smoother consistency (this also reduces the amount of oil) The flavours take a little while to come out, so if in dought, leave it 20 minutes then add some more of whatever you think it’s lacking. I do like the taste/consistency of shop bought and this gets VERY close for me.

Looking forward to falafel recipes as i normally buy the packets that you add water to.

Thankyou for all of the recipes! I’ll try them all out It sounds as though there are as many variations as people! Does anyone have a falafel recipe? I’m itching to try that too!

I’m doing slimming world and just tried this sw recipe this week , it was lovely

227g/8oz dried chick peas
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 level tsp ground cumin
1 level tsp ground coriander
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp chopped parsley
½ tsp baking powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fry Light, for spraying
method1. Put the chick peas in a bowl, cover them with plenty of cold water and leave to soak for at least 48 hours. Drain the chick peas and then rinse well under cold running water in a colander.

2. Put the drained chick peas in a food processor with the onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli and herbs. Process to a thick, smooth puree. Add the baking powder and seasoning and stir well. Transfer to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

3. Take small pieces of the pureed chick pea mixture and form into little balls between your hands, then flatten them out slightly. Arrange the falafel balls on a baking tray that has been sprayed with Fry Light.

4. Cook the falafel in a preheated hot oven at 220ºC/Gas Mark 7 for about 12-15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Serve immediately. A bowl of very low fat natural yogurt flavoured with fresh mint and chopped chilli makes a good dip for the falafel.

these all sound great. On a different, but similar note,I’ve found an organic shop which sells avocados for 50p!
I’ve been wanting to increase my good fats intake, so have been having these mashed with a little yogurt on top of ryvita - it’s really good; filling too! You could use soy yogurt or some soy sauce / lemon juice too if you wanted…

i know you didn’t ask for this, but it’s in a similar vein. I bought a small processor from Lidls yesterday, so will be trying joxy’s delicious sounding falafel too

Oh I need cheap avocados, I’m eating soooooo many right now! Neither of the children like them so I feel very bad that they cost so much!! xx

autumn girl why do you say hang onto the chick pea water? i always can wait to rinse off all the water form things that come in tins..pulses, lentils etc..the water always looks mildly frothy and stinks which puts me off,  so i make sure i get rid of all trace of it..am i being daft, is it full of all sorts of goodness?

mummyk x