One of the things that can make it difficult for me to come home and cook a slightly time consuming recipe is not the time or energy it takes, but in fact, just my appetite! I am usually so hungry when I get home that the idea of waiting for a more involved meal sounds awful. However, there are so many recipes I want to try and I so enjoy the meals once I make them, so I came up with a new strategy. I make sure to have healthy foods to snack on while I prepare dinner to hold me over until our meal is ready. My go-to healthy snack is hummus and veggies. It is so delicious and nutritious, and just the thing I needed. This particular hummus is a slight variation on a basic recipe. The taco flavoring is not too prominent but more of an afterthought. Mostly, it tastes like regular hummus with a bit of a twist. You could definitely increase the spices to suit your own tastes. Be sure to reserve the liquid as instructed because I needed to add quite a bit to achieve the creamy texture I like.
Taco Hummus
Ingredients:
2 cups well cooked or canned chickpeas, liquid reserved
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
6 tbsp. tahini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Directions:
Combine the chickpeas and all the spices in the bowl of a food processor. Process until well combined. With the machine running, add the tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice through the feed tube in a steady stream. Add reserved liquid from the chickpeas as necessary to achieve your desired texture. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and lemon juice as necessary.
Source: adapted from Liz’s Cooking Blog
