Red Lentil Hummus
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
2 ½ c
red lentils*
Rinse 11/2 cups dried red lentils well and place in a saucepan with 1 3/4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, roughly 15 minutes.
*Show Note
2 md
cloves garlic
3 tbsp
freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅔ c
tahini
¾ tsp
fine-grain sea salt
2-3 tbsp
whey, kefir, or warm water
2 tsp
black sesame seeds
extra-virgin olive oil, toasted sesame oil, minced chives, and/or chive blossoms, to serve
Red Lentil Hummus
In Near & Far, Heidi Swanson provides a collection of nourishing vegetarian recipes inspired by her travels.
This hummus is smooth as buttercream, in part because red lentils are used in place of the more typical chickpeas. Mung beans can be used an alternative base as well. Boost the hummus with a bit of whey, in place of water, for an added nutritional, probiotic kick. Red lentils lose much of their blush in the cooking process, but the resulting hummus is still a nice sight topped with chives and sesame.
5 servings
- Start by adding the cooked lentils and garlic to a food processor and pulsing for at least a minute, scraping the paste from the corners once or twice along the way. Add the lemon juice, tahini, and sea salt. Blend again, another minute or so. Don’t skimp on the blending time, but stop if the beans form a doughy ball inside the processor.
- At this point start adding the whey a splash at a time. Blend, blend, blend, until the hummus is smooth and light, aerated and creamy. Taste, and adjust to your liking—adding more lemon juice or salt, if needed.
- Serve topped with the black sesame seeds, and preferably, a good amount olive oil, a few drops of toasted sesame oil, lots of chives, and chive blossoms.
Reprinted with permission from Near & Far by Heidi Swanson, copyright © 2015. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
