Eat Simply, Eat Well

Healthy recipes & tips to help you live the good life. by Ann Plough

Curry Hummus

by

Curry Hummus with Kohlrabi, Red Pepper and Cucumber

Curry Hummus with Kohlrabi, Red Pepper and Cucumber

This time of year I am on the lookout for foods that I can pack in a little container or jar, shove in a bag, and haul with me on me next adventure outside somewhere. As soon as I have a free day, I’m up early, in the kitchen, throwing food into bags and containers and scuttling out the door to go and have some fun – which means a lot of what ends up in my belly this time of year doesn’t end up on these pages – because I forget to write it down and then it’s gone before I can photograph it and…and. But then there are those recipes which I just know I’ll make again and again, so sharing them here is an absolute must so that I have a record of them too!

Summer picnics along the trail

Summer picnics along the trail

Hummus always fits the bill for picnic fare so this time, I decided to mix things up a little by making a curry version of my standard hummus. This hummus is easy to make and goes well with crackers, cut up vegetables or as a spread on a nice piece of rustic sourdough.

Finnish summer nights are amazing

Finnish summer nights are amazing

We brought this along on a long walk through the woods recently, and happily dipped crunchy crackers into it as we listened to the birds sing in the trees overhead and watched the seagulls dip and soar in the wind across the sea. Outdoor experiences and food are inextricably linked for me, and I’d much rather get my protein fix through a lovely dip like this one than from some stale energy bar, anytime.

Whip this up in a few minutes, then go on – get outside! Summer days are short, and fleeting…

Curry Hummus

Curry Hummus

Curry Hummus

  • 1 can/1.5 cups cooked/3 dl cooked, low-sodium chickpeas + 2 tablespoons of the liquid
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 banana shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half
  • 1.5 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (leave out if you want it less spicy)
  • 1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive or sesame oil
  • salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until completely smooth. Taste. Add salt and additional cayenne pepper and chickpea liquid to suit your taste preferences. Use immediately or store for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Makes 1.5 cups / 3 dl

Cilantro-Parsley-Avocado Dip

by

Back when I was a kid in elementary school, there was a saying we heard or saw pasted to the wall nearly every year for 6 years:

“March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.”

I don’t know who was responsible for this ubiquitous line, but I can tell you: Mother Nature had a completely different idea this year.  The lamb came early and the lion returned to say hello for a little while.

If there ever was a day where you need a little comfort food, it would be today.  After leaning full-on into the winds of Spring with the sun shining down encouragingly as the snow melted away, there’s been a shift.

The snow is back.

Oh, it probably won’t last long: it’s so wet and sloppy that the slightest shimmer of warmer temps will send it melting back down into a muddled puddle, but nevertheless, this is definitely a day to stray outdoors as little as possible.

I do, however, have a recipe that keeps Spring at the front of your mind. You’ve already seen pictures of it here and here, but now I am finally sharing the recipe.  It’s a twist on guacamole with a spin of pesto, I suppose, but it uses a large quantity of herbs to create an intense green paste that is perfect for dipping crunchy crackers into, serving alongside vegetable or meat or quinoa patties, or just tiding over your hunger with by just indulging in a few spoonfuls.

Easy to put together and quick to disappear – you may want to double this batch!

Cilantro-Parsely-Avocado Dip

1 large bunch cilantro, roughly chopped, including stems
leaves from one large bunch of parsely, chopped (discard stems)
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, to your taste

Place all ingredients into a blender or into the bowl of a food processor.  Process until completely smooth.  Scrape out into a bowl and serve.

Makes a scant 1 cup.

Chickpea Ginger and Lemon Dip

by

Are you getting sick of hummus on everything?  Looking for something new? Don’t spurn the chickpea yet.  Here’s a dip that’ll make you look at that beautiful garbanzo bean in a whole new way.  And there are good reasons to keep it on the menu:  high in fiber, protein, manganese, and iron along with a series of powerful antioxidants, this little legume helps keep you in tip-top health.

Every single time until now that I’ve used chickpeas for a dip or spread, I’ve whizzed them up into some variation of hummus.  I don’t know why.  I’m not usually a creature of habit, but for some reason my needle was stuck on a single track with these.  But since I’d already consumed the last of my tahini sampling the latest round of bread from the oven, I needed to come up with something else.
I was working on a recipe for Quinoa Patties (recipe coming soon now click on that link!) filled with Asian flavors, so I decide that the fresh zing of ginger and lemon combined with a few stems of cilantro might be just the light note I was looking for.
The dip was perfect with the quinoa patties, but also perfect later with light crackers and as a dip for a variety of vegetables.  It’s easy to double or triple the batch and would freeze nicely, so go ahead: go crazy with this stuff!
Chickpea Ginger Lemon Dip
1 cup / 250 ml cooked chickpeas, liquid reserved
2 tablespoons minced, fresh cilantro, including stems
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger
salt to taste (note: if you are using canned chickpeas, definitely taste before adding salt)
2 Tablespoons or up to 1/4 cup / 50 ml of chickpea liquid, depending on desired dip thickness
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  Taste; add salt, lemon and/or chickpea liquid as needed/desired.
Serve with quinoa patties, crudite, crackers…
Makes approximately 1 cup/2dl