Hummus balila

Happy New Year!

The first recipe I share with you this year is “Hummus balila”, a very simple yet highly nutritious and comforting vegan Lebanese dish.

Chickpeas are called hummus in Arabic, and the “Hummus balila” recipe is made using only 6 humble ingredients: hummus (chickpeas), extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), lemon juice, garlic, salt and cumin.

Legumes, such as chickpeas, are a staple of the Mediterranean diet and this is why you can find plenty of vegetarian and vegan pulses recipes on my blog under the “Beans & other legumes” category.

Pulses are highly nutritious foods. Pulses are part of the legume family, but when we talk about pulses we refer only to the dried seed. Legumes are good sources of proteins, amino acids, fibre, iron, potassium, B group vitamins and other nutrients that help prevent cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. Pulses are naturally low in fat and contain no cholesterol.

Pulses are an excellent source of folate that is essential to the nervous system function and especially important during pregnancy to prevent fetal neural tube defects.

The Lebanese “Hummus balila” is traditionally served warm accompanied with Lebanese bread, Lebanese cucumbers, radish, fresh mint, fresh parsley, onion and tomatoes as you can see in my pictures.

This is a highly nutritious dish rich in protein, fiber, manganese, folate, copper, phosphorus, iron, zinc, calcium and vitamin C. The garlic in this dish helps to boost your immunity, what makes it a perfect dish for winter.

If you try this tasty and healthy vegan Mediterranean diet recipe of “Hummus balila”, please let me know, leave a comment and rate it. I would love to know what you come up with. Enjoy!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Hummus balila

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Margarita @ Tasty Mediterraneo

Cuisine: Mediterranean Diet

Serves: 4 People

Ingredients

• 360g (1⅔ cup) Dried chickpeas (If you are short on time you can also use a jar of organic chickpeas in water)
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• The freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons
• 1 Teaspoon cumin
• 1 Teaspoon sea salt (or salt to taste)
• 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Have all the ingredients prepared as indicated in the ingredients description.
2. If you are using dried chickpeas, soak the dried chickpeas in warm water for 10 hours. Ideally leave them soaked overnight. Rinse them well and drain. Bring water to a boil in a cooking pot and when the water is boiling add the drained chickpeas and leave them cooking over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 hours until tender. Once they are cooked, add 1 teaspoon of sea salt (or salt to taste), stir and remove from the heat.
3. If you are using a jar of organic chickpeas in water, cook them for about 20 minutes.
4. Add to the cooked chickpeas salt to taste, the freshly squeezed lemon juice, the garlic and the extra virgin olive oil. Serve and garnish with fresh mint or fresh parsley and cumin to taste.

Notes

It is common to serve this dish accompanied with Lebanese bread, Lebanese cucumbers, radish, fresh mint, fresh parsley, onion and tomatoes.

3.5.3228