I have never been able to convince either my husband or my youngest son that chickpeas are a bone fide edible foodstuff. My eldest son, however, will devour a tub of hummus from the fridge with crackers, veggies, crisps – whatever lays to hand, before I can get a look in.

Today eldest is studying, and my husband has taken my youngest to a Star Wars tabletop roleplaying session – it’s his second session and he is smitten. So I figured this was a great opportunity to make homemade hummus for lunch. We had ours piled into wraps with lots of green salad leaves.  It was really good, and I got the seal of approval from eldest before I wrote it down here.

I use canned chickpeas for speed and energy saving. I freely admit I have never cooked my own. However, you can substitute cooked dried chickpeas if you wish. I also don’t put tahini in my hummus, but I do think this version tastes just as good without.

Chickpeas are a great source of fibre, folates and magnesium. They may help improve cognitive functioning, healthy sleep, learning and memory. “Cilantro and coriander have been shown to boost memory in mice. They also contain a good amount of vitamin K and a nice array of minerals that have been linked to healthier brain functioning.” p.13 The Healthy Mind Cookbook by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson.

Zingy Lemon and Coriander Hummus (Serves 2)

Ingredients

1 400g can chickpeas (unsalted if possible)

Juice and zest of half a lemon

1 clove garlic, chopped

Freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste

2 good handfuls fresh coriander

pinch of dried chilli flakes

3 tablespoons water

Method

Tip the chickpeas into a sieve held  over the sink to drain. Then rinse the chickpeas still in the sieve thoroughly under a cold tap.  Tip the rinsed chickpeas into a medium sized bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and blitz with an immersion blender until smooth. Serve! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Image by Gala Rodriguez via Unsplash