I know it’s a big trend right now to call things ‘Skinny’. Skinny Margaritas, Skinny Wine, Skinny Jeans.. and I, like any smart girl, love a good trend but this is one you won’t be seeing me follow. I hate that word. I feel like it has such a negative connotation to it. And the word, ‘skinny’ is usually said in such a way that makes you question whether or not it was a compliment or an insult. ‘Oh my god, look at you! You’re so skinny.’ I’d much rather someone call me ‘lean’ or ‘fit’. And I feel like the margarita or the wine or the jeans must feel the same way. ‘Lean Jeans’ even sounds better.
So when I’m writing a recipe that happens to be lighter than the original, I think about these things. I understand that if I were to advertise a Skinny Hummus, the recipe would be a greater success than if I used a nicer descriptor, but haven’t you heard? I’m stubborn.
I love hummus and it’s not that it’s an unhealthy thing… Beans? Healthy. Tahini from sesame seeds? Healthy. Olive oil? Healthy. It’s just that there is often A LOT of oil in hummus. And just because something is good for you doesn’t mean it can’t do damage to your waist line. But since I don’t believe in fake food replacements, I always try to find a way to health-ify something using real food and try to not compromise flavor in the process.
In this case I’m using the bean broth for the majority if the liquid and then using a bit of olive oil for flavor. I also took out the tahini all together for a number of reasons. One, it’s incredibly pricey for something that you only use a couple times a year and Two, it’s a processed sesame seed butter, often with other additives, that you end up processing again, which doesn’t make sense to me. Plus, I really just didn’t feel like going out and buying something if I didn’t need to. So I wrote this recipe using things I am always guaranteed to have on hand. And its really delicious! It’s as creamy as the original, full of flavor and has a fraction of the calories and fat. Take that, Hummus!!
So here’s a recipe that I bring to you from the couch, stuffy and puffy, surrounded by tissues and blankets, as I fight off the cold of the century. Its a good one, and you can call it whatever you want.
*Hummus, on trend
(yields 3 1/2-4 cups)
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| This is what it looks like after my dad gets into the hummus… |
(Whether you use canned or dried like I did, you will need 3 cups of cooked chickpeas to follow the measurements below and you need to reserve the cooking liquid or canned liquid. And a 15 ounce can of chickpeas is just under 2 cups.)
-Add the 3 cups of cooked chickpeas to your food processor with 1/2 cup reserved bean broth, 2-3 TB extra virgin olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup lightly salted/roasted cashews, 1 TB toasted sesame seeds, 4-5 cloves garlic, 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 2 TB nutritional yeast flakes and 1 TB peanut butter (unsweetened is best but if you use unsalted, you will need to add more salt.)
-Process everything until smooth and check to see if you need to adjust the seasoning to your taste buds.
-Serve with crudite or pita points.
-Store, covered, in the fridge for about a week.
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