When it comes to snack food there are endless options. I love having dips, spreads and chutneys around that I make ahead of time.
I love snacking on different things depending on my moods and it is way to easy to prepare some things so they are ready to eat when you are hungry for something to tie you over to the next meal.
Sure you can go buy things like hummus and chutneys in the stores but, I like knowing everything in the food I am eating. Plus when you make something on your own, you tend to get 2 to 3 times as much for the same price. I like those odds better!
I am going to share a recipe with you today that should take you no more than 10 minutes to prepare and can be taken with you just about anywhere no matter if it’s work, school, or the track meet.
Ginger Lemon Hummus.
1 can chickpeas
2 tablespoons fresh ginger (minced)
1 cup tahini
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 whole lemons cut in halves
Salt and pepper
Water
To start you want puree your garlic, ginger and chickpeas together in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor then you can use a hand blender and if you don’t have a hand blender then you should borrow a friends and if you can’t borrow a friends, then you should go buy one as these are very important tools to have in your kitchen. They can make your life so much easier when it comes to tasks like making soups, purees, and dips such as hummus or Baba Ghanoush.
Once you mixture is pureed you can add your chickpeas and tahini and continue to puree to your desired texture. Some people like smooth like peanut butter, where I like to have a little bit of texture to it so I leave it on the chunkier side. It doesn’t really change the flavour but I enjoy it better this way. Lastly I mentioned water in the ingredient list which can be used to thin out the dip as a posed to adding oil.
As always I like to season with salt, pepper and lemon juice until it has the propper balance. Once you are done you can serve it either warm or chilled and with any kind of bread. I prefer room temperature as I find you get the most flavor as a pose to cold. Some toasted french bread or naan bread goes great with this as well.
This is just one of many couple recipes for some dips that can be used at almost any occasion and are easy to store and pack up for a hike.
-Chef Jamie Hertz