I don’t know if you noticed but I love hummus! I make hummus bi-weekly, I sometimes buy hummus to try new flavor combinations and as you can imagine, I eat hummus often.
So what do I love about hummus? Two things, first I love hummus for its versatility. I use it as a dip for vegetables and pita, as a pizza sauce for pizzas topped with black olives, red onions and spinach and as a sandwich spread, it makes a great alternative to mayonnaise. I even like to dip my roasted potatoes in it when I make weekend breakfasts at home.
Secondly, I love hummus for its health properties. The add ins, such as olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and tahini contain healthy fats, and high amounts of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Not to forget the main star, chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) are one of the best things you can eat out of a can/bag and widely available. I’m a huge fan of the website The World’s Healthiest Foods so I did some digging to find out nutritional information on Chickpeas. Here is what I found; chickpeas are high in fibre making you feel fuller for longer and as a result you will consume fewer calories over the course of the day as well as eating them, by the same effect, helps support a healthy digestion tract. They are also high in manganese and anti-oxidants like vitamin C, E, and beta-carotene.
You may have noticed I have a few variations for hummus on V-spot. When I first started this blog in 2008, I posted a basic recipe for Hummus with three variations; Lemon Dill Hummus, Spicy Hummus and Roasted Garlic Hummus. Since then I have posted two more variations Fire Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Artichoke and Spinach (dip) Hummus.
Today I bring you caramelized onion hummus. Serve this at room temperature, or cold with pita chips, rice crackers and loads of fresh veggies. Great as a sandwich spread, try it slathered on toasted baguette, with Brie and sautéed mushrooms.
Caramelized Onion Hummus
- 1 medium white onion or 1/3-1/2 of a Vidalia onion
- 5 cloves of garlic, peeled, trimmed and left whole
- 1 tbs salted butter or margarine
- a pinch of thyme or rosemary
- 3-4 tbs olive oil
- 1 can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
- 1 green onion, trimmed and cut into chunks
- 1 lemon, halved and juiced
- 2-3 tbs tahini
- a few tablespoons of water
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Prepare onions by thinly slicing into rings. Use your hands to turn them into individual rings. Trim garlic, but leave in whole cloves and set aside.
In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add in onions and whole garlic cloves and season with thyme, salt and pepper. Let sit about 5-8 minutes turning occasionally so it will not burn. Add in butter and stir well to coat. If you are using white onions and want a sweeter caramelized onion you can add 1/2 tsp of sugar at this stage. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until the onions and garlic cloves are browned well and soft. Be careful not to burn.
While the onions are cooking add the green onion to a food processor and mince.Then add in the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini and remaining olive oil and run until the mixture is smooth and well incorporated.
When the onions are caramelized, add them to the food processor and mix around a little with a spoon. Process a for a few pulses if you want the onions to remain chunky or process for longer if you like it smooth. Add water or additional olive oil to thin to your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
I actually really like this hummus served warm and you can eat this right away. However, if you leave the hummus to cool in the fridge it sets nicer up and the flavors improve. I did not try this, but I imagine you could bake this in the oven for a few minutes, top with some gruyere or daiya for a warm dip served with toasty bread and it would taste kind of like a french onion soup dip. Yum, now I need to try that too!
V-Spot 