Spicy hummus that you can eat with anything! 辣辣鷹嘴豆泥，滿滿的健康食材讓你冬天溫暖夏天開胃!

First of all, I’ve never yet been to any country that name hummus their local food, so this is simply my interpretation based on what we like.

I’d say the closest “hummus” I’ve tasted is at this local pita shop, which sells various pita smeared with a generous amount of hummus.

Then there’s the supermarket version I bought out of curiosity but did not quite like, and if you live in Taipei, the pre-made hummus is not only hard to come by but also quite pricey.

One day, after watching too many youtube videos of traveling in the middle-east and finding a can of chickpeas in my cabin I decided to make my own hummus!

It was super easy. I started with throwing all the ingredients I could remembered into the blender, and adding a bit more spice to it since we like it hot, all was left was to blend and adjust the flavors!

I decided that my imaginary recipe was a success when we consumed half a bag of tortilla chips along with the freshly-made hummus. It is SO MUCH BETTER than the store-bought version!

Tools you’ll need:

•  Blender/Food Processor
• Measuring Cup and Spoons
• Mesh Strainer (Only if you like it smooth)

Ingredients:

• One 15-ounce can (425 grams) chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans
• 3 Tablespoon (44ml) fresh lemon or lime juice, about 1/3 lemon, ½ lime
• ¼ cup (59 ml) tahini (Typically it’s a paste made from un-roasted white sesame seeds, I’m using a freshly-ground version I found at local market here in Taipei)
• 4 garlic cloves (We love our garlic! This also adds to the spiciness. Reduce the amount to 1 if you’re not a big fan)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving/garnish
• 3 tablespoons chickpea water from the can (add more if you prefer a sauce-like texture)
• ½ to 1 teaspoon salt, depending on taste
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon of ground paprika and a dash extra for serving
• 1 teaspoon of ground chili powder (You can add more if you like it even spicier. I’m using a pretty spicy Indian chili powder.)

The hard part is now over.

Now throw the wet ingredients into the weapon of your choice(food processor/blender) – chickpeas(drained), lemon or lime juice, tahini, garlic cloves and olive oil into the food processor/blender to blend into a paste-like form, and adjust the texture to your liking by adding the chickpea water a little at a time from the can.

If you’re using a blender like I am, you might need more liquid to help you blend smoothly, especially when you don’t have a very powerful blender. (I’m actually using a single-serve smoothie blender.)

Try adding even more chickpea water and some extra virgin olive oil to smooth it out, just remember to add a bit a time in case you mess up and turns it into chickpea soup.

And if you’re using a bigger blender, you might need to consider making more than one portion of this recipe at the time so the blender actually has something to work on.

After you get the paste to the texture you like, add in the rest of the ingredients (salt, cumin, paprika, chili powder) and blend until just combined.

Give it a little taste! Adjust the flavors to your liking.

If you’re looking for a smooth hummus or your blender simply doesn’t work so well– this is when the mesh strainer comes in. Pour your finished hummus paste into a mesh strainer and with a silicone spatula, a spoon or whatever you prefer to strain the paste out into your serving bowl. You now have a smoother hummus paste!

Add a few drops of extra virgin olive oil to enhance the fruity fragrance and a dash of paprika for color, you are now ready to serve!

Serving Ideas:

• Veggie Sticks (Celery, cucumber, carrot, steamed sweet potato)
• Veggie Salad: Use your hummus as a dressing! Dice up some cucumbers, tomatoes and cilantro and give it a quick mix with hummus.
• Tortilla Chips
• Pita, of course
• JUST EAT IT WITH A SPOON

-Tiffany Alexandria

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雞豆又叫鷹嘴豆，台灣也叫它雪蓮子，似乎比較常出現在甜點湯品裡。雞豆是個超級健康的食品(除非你要減肥，就不要吃太多)

鷹嘴豆屬於高營養豆類植物，富含多種植物蛋白和多種胺基酸、維生素、粗纖維及鈣、鎂、鐵等成份。其中純蛋白質含量高達28％以上，脂肪5％，碳水化合物61％，纖維4－6％，鷹嘴豆含有10多種胺基酸，其中人體必需的8種胺基酸全部具備，而且含量比燕麥還要高出2倍以上。

可是吃甜的好像不太健康，因此這裡來跟大家介紹新吃法~ 雞豆泥! 這是一個來自於中東的一道菜。

我沒去過中東，所以不能夠說我做的是道地的雞豆泥，但是這是一個我一做好就會有一大包玉米片立刻消失的版本。

市面上也看過CITY SUPER有在賣雞豆泥，可是小小一盒就要百來元。

自己做過後就發現，除了備料之外，這道菜其實沒有什麼太困難的地方~ 抓住自己喜歡的味道就對了。

需要的道具有:

• 食物調理機 或是 果汁機
• 量杯 和 量匙
• 濾網 (如果你的果汁機不能打很碎 或是你喜歡比較細膩的口感才需要)

食材準備:

• 超市 雞豆一罐 (也叫做鷹嘴豆/埃及豆) 約425克
• 3大匙 (44ml) 新鮮檸檬汁 (無籽的那種大約半顆)
• ¼ 杯 (59ml) 白芝麻醬 (一般中東作法是用沒有炒過的芝麻醬，但是我在市場找到了現磨的那種我覺得味道也不錯)
• 4瓣蒜頭 (我們愛蒜味，所以這個分量有比較多，如果你不是這麼愛蒜頭的話也可以只加一個蒜瓣)
• 2大匙 冷壓特級純橄欖油 (建議使用冷壓特級純橄欖油，而不是炒菜的那種，冷壓特級橄欖油有一種果香會幫雞豆泥的味道大加分!)
• 3大匙 雞豆水 (就是罐頭裡的液體，不要丟掉喔!)
• ½~1小匙 鹽巴 (看你要吃多鹹)
• 1/2小匙 小茴香/純孜然 粉
• ½ 小匙 西班牙紅椒粉
• 1小匙 細辣椒粉 (如果喜歡吃很辣的話也可以多加一點。我用的是一個很辣的印度牌子)

難的部分結束了!!

接下來只是關於口感的掌控。

把所有濕的材料丟到食物調理機或是果汁機裡: 雞豆(瀝乾，記得要留水)、檸檬汁、芝麻醬、大蒜、橄欖油開始將這些食材打到一個黏黏的泥狀。期間可以慢慢加入一些先前留下來的雞豆水，直到一個你覺得適合的口感就可以了。

如果你跟我一樣是用果汁機的話(我用的是那種一人份很小台的)，你可能會需要更多的液體來幫助果汁機順利運轉。

我會多加一些橄欖油和雞豆水來平衡我的雞豆泥。

記得水要一點一點的加，不要一次加太多就變成雞豆湯了。

等到食材都被打碎了，也變成你喜歡的質地了，就可以把剩餘的材料(調味料:鹽、小茴香粉、紅椒粉、辣椒粉)放進去拌勻，雞豆泥就做好了!!

試吃看看，有什麼覺得需要調整的趁現在。

如果你喜歡比較細緻的口感 或是你的果汁機 無法把食物打得很碎的話，把濾網拿出來，將做好的雞豆泥倒進去之後用湯匙或刮刀幫忙濾出來，就可以得到比較細緻的豆泥。

放在一個漂亮的盤子或是碗裡，撒上些許紅椒粉，滴上幾滴橄欖油增添芬芳及配色，雞豆泥完成了!

不知道雞豆泥要跟什麼一起吃嗎?

這裡提供幾個我們愛吃的點子:

• 鮮蔬棒: 切一些芹菜、小黃瓜、胡蘿蔔沾著雞豆泥吃
• 蔬菜沙拉: 番茄、小黃瓜切丁，拌上雞豆泥後灑些香菜
• 原味玉米脆片: 用玉米脆片沾著吃
• 口袋餅: 口袋餅烘烤後沾著吃 或是將裡面塗滿雞豆泥後 再配上各式蔬菜肉片做成三明治
• 吐司: 做三明治塗抹，或是烤的酥酥的沾著吃

想像力無限，跟我們分享你愛的吃法吧!

-Tiffany Alexandria