Hummus is a type of dip made primarily from ground chickpeas. Traditionally, it comes from the Middle East, but it's popular all over the world today.
How Is Hummus Eaten?
Hummus is usually eaten as a dip, with breadsticks, carrot-sticks, celery or even nachos. You can also dunk bread in it, or spread it onto crackers. I find it goes nicely with olives, too.
Fresh hummus is so much nicer than the stuff you buy from supermarkets, but it's quite hard to get the recipe right. There's a cafe near where I live, and they do hummus with chilli, pine-nuts and warm flatbread. Very nice!
What's In Hummus?
- Chickpeas ground to a paste
- Olive oil
- Tahini
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
Is Hummus Good For You?
Hummus is high in iron and protein, which makes it particularly healthy for vegans and vegetarians — as well as people with anaemia.
Although hummus can be quite high in calories, these all come from the "good" fats that your body needs to stay healthy, and it's much better for you than sour-cream flavour dips or whatever else you usually dip nachos in (other than salsa, which is pretty healthy, too).
