Every home cook needs to have a few solid appetizer recipes in his or her back pocket, quick dishes that rely on pantry staples to whip up on days when the kids can’t stop snacking or you’ve got unexpected guests. One of our favorites is homemade hummus — it’s so much creamier, more flavorful and budget-friendly than the stuff in plastic tubs at the grocery store. Plus, when you make it yourself, you can customize it to how you like it: more or less garlic, lemon or chili pepper, or, in this case, enriched with hemp seed oil. Hemp seeds (the totally legal culinary kind) are a superfood, loaded with two essential fatty acids, linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linoleic acid (omega-3), and protein. Hemp seeds, and their oil, are also great for your heart and your skin!
For this recipe, keep it local by using Soom tahini, a PA-based brand. Its tahini is the most superior kind we’ve ever tried, and some of the best local chefs are fans of it, as well — in his book Zahav, Philadelphia chef Michael Solmonov gives it a special shout-out! If you can find locally grown garlic, by all means, use that, too. Hummus is one of those dishes that’s only as good as the sum of its parts, so using high-quality ingredients makes a true difference.
Hemp Hummus
| Yield |
|---|
| Serves 10–12 |
| Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|
| min | 10 min | 10 min |
Ingredients
- 3 (15.5-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained (reserved liquid) and rinsed
- 1/2 cup Soom tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup EVO hemp seed oil, plus more for serving
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving
- Smoked paprika, for serving
- Grilled pita and/or sliced raw veggies, for serving
Method
- Combine chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, hemp seed oil, garlic, salt and pepper in food processor. Process until smooth, slowly adding reserved chickpea liquid until smooth.
- Spread hummus in low, wide bowl and top with hemp seed oil, black pepper and paprika.
- Photo, GIF and recipe: Dish Works
