I love hummus. It would have to be one of my favourite dips and I go through vast quantities of it at home. Anything I purchase vast quantities of I like to have a go at making from scratch to see if I can come up with something just as good and a little more cost-effective than buying a tub a week. This recipe is simple to make and very low calorie as it uses water as the liquid instead of olive oil.

I often use hummus to lighten up my other favourite dips – olive tapenade and basil and cashew nut pesto. Just mix a teaspoon of the naughty dip with a few tablespoons of hummus and enjoy.

If you’re using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight and drain before using. If using tinned chickpeas there’s no need to pre-soak them. Place the chickpeas, onion and bay leaf in a pot.

Cover the chickpeas with water then place the pot on the stove. Boil the pot then reduce to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes.

Discard the onion and bay leaf and drain the chickpeas but reserve the cooking liquid. In a bowl or food processor, combine the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, cumin and about a cup of water and blend it all together. I used a stick blender for mine. Add a little extra liquid at a time if the hummus is too thick. Mix through the olive oil and season with pepper.

Serve with vege sticks or pita bread crisps or use instead of butter in a sandwich or wrap or on pizza. Enjoy!

Healthy hummus

Yield: 2 cups

Adapted from Michelle Bridges' book 'crunch time cookbook'

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Ingredients

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
• 1 onion, peeled but left whole
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin (this is my variation)
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Drain.
2. Place the chickpeas in a large saucepan with the onion and bayleaf. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 40 minutes until the chickpeas are tender. Remove and discard the onion and bay leaf and drain the chickpeas reserving the liquid.
3. Combine the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and about 1 cup of the liquid in a bowl. Puree using a stick mixer, blender or food processor until smooth then stir in the olive oil and season with pepper.
4. If you're short on time, use a tin of chickpeas in place of the dried chickpeas ans start from the saucepan step.