I like to travel a lot and as a vegan I have difficulties with eating on the go. That is why before I leave my home for a long trip I always make sure I have prepared hummus for on the way. Normally the restaurants don't always offer vegan food and the chances of finding any of the ones that do open are pretty limited. That is why I always have hummus in a cool container and have carrots and bread crackers to go with it.
Usually the night before the trip I am in the kitchen preparing the hummus in the blender. That takes me no more than 5 minutes when I use a high power one. However, in case you lack a blender then you can just do the hummus in a normal food processor. The ordinary hummus I make is mildly seasoned as my daughter loves it this way. I then use half of it to add more seasoning to it and mix it again in the blender. The seasonings I choose to add are normally spicy so I need to garnish with small slices of jalapeno so my family can recognize which the ‘'adult'' one is. Here is how to prepare this delicious appetizer in a blender.
Ingredients: cooked chickpeas approx. 3 cups, one cup of chickpea broth for cooking, 5 cloves of peeled garlic, 2 tbsp Tahini, 3 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed, 1tsp cumin, ¼ tsp of smoked paprika, half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper or chili powder and salt depending on your personal taste.
In order to prepare this delicious vegan hummus you will need to place all of the above listed ingredients minus the salt in the blender. Make sure you add them in the listed order. Start blending at low speed and slowly increase it to high. In case your mix turns out to be too thick you need to add a bit of water. Once the hummus is smooth, stop the blender and try the taste of it. Now is the time to add additional seasoning if you wish. You need to store it in the fridge and preferably consume it after at least one hour so that you have allowed all the ingredients to blend their tastes. However, remember that you should eat it within a week as after that it will be no good and you can cause yourself stomach aches.
As you can see, it is not so difficult to make vegan appetizers. I normally separate half of the basic hummus I make and use the other half to get really creative. I experiment with different tastes and ingredients and have my family be the jury that scores my success. For a different taste try adding green onion, red peppers, chipotle peppers, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic, caramelized onions, jalapeno peppers, green or black olives, spinach, balsamic vinegar etc.
I hope I have been helpful with my ideas and I also hope that if you are a vegan you may think of having the hummus in a container accompany you at all times so that you can always have a nibble in case you are hungry and there are no vegan restaurants around.
This article is written by Mark Neyton. Mark is a freelance writer more than 4 years and he is mostly interested in writing about fashion trends and delicious meals. He speaks English and Danish fluently and that is why he agreet to start writing for Femina and their delicious hummus recipes campaign.
