Friday, July 5, 2013

Lemon Kale Hummus



The creamy indulgence of hummus meets the zesty zing of lemon and refreshing nutrient-richness of kale. It's my "You've-Never-Tasted-Anything-Like-It-100%-Organic-Lemon-Kale-Hummus" (I have to work on the name.) And in the spirit of America's birthday - I'm letting freedom ring and setting my recipe free into the blogospher for all of you to enjoy!

Gather Your Ingredients!
Ingredients (All Organic):
-Dry Chickpeas
-Tahini
-Lemon
-Kale
-Parsley
-Extra Virgin Olive Oils
-Garlic
-Sea Salt
-Black Pepper
-Cumin



Here's the thing guys - I made a promise to myself: "Self, I will never serve store-bought packaged hummus again." And guess what!? You shouldn't either! Store-bought hummus travels hundreds or thousands of miles in plastic (we all know the dangers of exposing our food to plastics) containers; more often than not it is jam-packed with non-organic ingredients and LOADS of salt and preservatives. Besides, just as easy and much more cost-effective to make it ourselves!

Making hummus at home allows you to use 100% organic ingredients and customize the end result to meet your exact taste-buds! I love lemon and kale together - it is such a refreshing combo - and BONUS - Kale extremely rich in nutrients, so not only are you getting a delicious snack, you're getting a healthy dose of leafy greens! I also love using parsley in the mix and as a garnish because of its detoxifying properties (it is also a natural breath freshener - garlic lovers rejoice!)

First you want to soak your chickpeas overnight. Then boil them in water until soft (I missed the photo-op on this step, sorry! But you can see in the photo above: my dried chickpeas in the glass container and the soaked and boiled chickpeas in the blue bowl).

Then, clean and rinse your kale, parsley and lemon. (My sister once told me about a study done on lemons that detailed the amount of bacteria exposed to the lemon juice if you cut into the rind without washing it thoroughly, so I always rinse my lemons before cutting them open!) Remove the ribs from the kale until you have a nice size pile of leaves (2-3 cups). Chop 2 cloves garlic. 

Combine chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice (I like mine extra lemony so I use about 3/4 of a lemon), garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cumin, 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbsp EVOO. Let your blender go to town. Once the chickpeas are pulverized to your preferred texture, add the kale leaves. (You may want to add a few at a time so your blender doesn't stall on you.) 



Presto-Chango-Baby! You've got yourself a beautiful, rich, delicious green hummus with a fantastic lemon kick!

Garnish with parsley, some EVOO and kalamata olives (as seen below served with organic cucumbers and the amazing Mary's Gone Sticks & Twigs All-Organic, GMO-Free Pretzles.



Enjoy!

Do you make your own hummus? What flavor and ingredient varieties do you like to create?
I'm always looking for a new hummus remix - share your comments and recipes below - I love to hear from you guys!

Keep it real,

LVO

2 comments:

  1. how much tahini do you use?

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  2. I use about 1 1/2 tablespoons but it really comes down to your own taste buds and what you like!

    ReplyDelete