First, a bit of background on how I came to prepare this light hummus. Hummus is an Arabic word that literally means “chickpea,” but in practice “hummus” commonly refers to the typical chickpea pâté made with tahini (the sesame seed paste), oil, garlic, lemon and cumin, and eaten with pita bread or with vegetables.
From there many variations exist, even with other legumes, depending on the region of origin. The name hummus is the one most commonly used in Italy but other names are: houmous, hummous, hommos, humos, hommus and hoummos. In Arabic it is written like this: الحمص which literally means “chickpea.”
In London I could easily find lighter hummus versions in any supermarket. Here in the Netherlands you mostly find the classic one which is much richer and often contains unnecessary extra ingredients, so I had to experiment to find the right combination to obtain the flavor I wanted without adding too much fat.
Luckily I was able to do some research online and take inspiration from various sources, including Weight Watchers recipes on the American site, and in the end I was very satisfied with this version of light vegan hummus. Now I’ll explain how to make it.
You can find other similar recipes or dressings here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: No-cook
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
If you cook the chickpeas yourself, read the instructions at the bottom in the FAQ.
- 7 oz canned chickpeas (about 1 cup drained)
- 1 tbsp soy yogurt (or other plant-based yogurt)
- 1 tbsp tahini (i.e., sesame seed paste)
- 1/2 lemon (juice and grated zest)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- A few tbsp water (or reserved chickpea cooking water)
- to taste chopped parsley (optional, for garnish)
- to taste sweet paprika (optional, for garnish)
- Points per serving = 2 WW points
Tools
- Small bowls
- Knife
- Hand blender
- Lemon grater
Steps
Preparing the light hummus is very simple. If you cooked the chickpeas yourself, keep some of the cooking water. Weigh the amount of cooked chickpeas indicated and put them in the chopper attachment of the hand blender or in the appropriate jar.
Also add the garlic cut into slices, the grated zest and the juice of half a lemon, the tahini, the cumin, the yogurt and 1 tablespoon of water or some of the reserved chickpea cooking water.
Blend and taste: add a little salt and/or more water until you reach the flavor and consistency you prefer.
Our light hummus is ready! I like to serve it in old terracotta bowls and garnish with chopped parsley or a sprinkle of sweet paprika.
You can then enjoy it with whole wheat or Arabic bread, lightly warmed and cut into strips, or with lots of vegetables cut into sticks: carrots, celery, peppers, fennel are examples.
I usually serve it as an appetizer at the table, or I eat it for breakfast or as a snack when I want something more filling.
Let me know how you like to enjoy it.
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage and curiosities
This hummus keeps in the fridge for 5 days and you can also freeze it for 5 months.
A while ago I found a comment from a Lebanese woman, Ramia, who explained the following things about hummus that I find interesting.
I copy her entire message here: “Only salt, pepper, garlic, sesame paste, lemon and to soften it olive oil. When cumin is added, about a couple of teaspoons, it becomes darker and is called hummus kammouni (from kammoun = cumin). If to the basic recipe you add a lot of finely chopped parsley into the mixture it becomes hummus beiruti (meaning from Beirut, the capital of Lebanon). These are the recipes that were passed on to me”.
Thanks to Ramia for all the explanations.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
If I want to use dried chickpeas, how do I do it?
If you want to cook them yourself, soak about 100 g (about 3.5 oz, roughly 1/2 cup) of dried chickpeas overnight, rinse them and then boil them in unsalted water. At the first boil skim the surface, cover with water and let simmer gently. If after a couple of hours the chickpeas are still a bit firm, add a pinch of baking soda to soften them quickly and continue for another half hour. Once cooled you can also remove the skins so they will be more digestible. Take the quantity you need for the recipe and freeze the rest.
