Red Lentil Hummus, Dip Well

Great as a spread on a sandwich loaded with grilled vegetables, a terrific alternative to your regular chickpea hummus, today we lend a little colour to your kitchen with Red Lentil Hummus.

Red lentils have all the same high protein properties as their legume cousins but they’re smaller and glow with the most magnificent orange.  Love having jars of lentils on the shelves in the kitchen, such colorful little suckers.  While some of the colour is lost in the cooking process but the nutritional benefits remain.  Paired with healthy fats, a  sizeable amount of garlic and lemon this is a healthy, tasty dip to get your veggie protein on.

Try red lentil hummus with a bit of pita or as a veggie dip.  It works well as a spread, it’s vegan friendly and gluten free.  Really, a good fit for all the food special interest groups and – it’s delicious.

Snack well.

Red Lentil Hummus Recipe

Prep & cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: about 3 cups

1 cup dried red lentils
2 cups water
3 – 4 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons olive oil (add as needed)
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (or black pepper)

Method:

1)  Rinse red lentils well under cold water.  Remove any debris you find, then soak in cold water for about 10 minutes.

2) Put lentils, water and 1 teaspoon of salt in a small pot and bring it to a boil, then reduce temperature to simmer for 5 – 7 minutes until lentils are tender but not mushy.  You know they’re done if they crush to a pulp between your thumb and forefinger.

3) Rinse, drain well and cool.  Once cool add lentils, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, remaining salt, and chillies to food processor bowl, pulse for a few seconds to mix then add olive oil until desired consistency is reached.  you don’t want it too runny, so add only as much olive oil as needed depending on how wet (or dry) your lentils are.  Taste.  Adjust seasoning and tahini as needed and zip it at full speed until your red lentil hummus is a smooth paste.

Gypsy note:  Personally I don’t like hummus to be to heavy with tahini, so I usually use less than most recipes call for, thus my note in the recipe with a variance of tahini.  Personal taste will dictate your level of sesame, salt and heat, so taste and adjust as needed.  We like it spicy!

Finish with a good olive oil and top with dried chillies or some crumbled feta cheese and serve.  Red lentil hummus holds well in the fridge, for a week or more.  Or portion the batch into small, serving sized, packages and freeze, then just thaw, stir and snack when hunger hits.