Roast Carrot Hummus

I think I’ve said before that New-Year-New-Youisms can bore right off for me, however I find myself in this early end of 2018 facing some needed changes in the kitchen, in particular by addressing my nutritional intake. Many sources agree that the end to my woes will come from more protein. About 25% of my daily intake of calories of protein, to be precise. That’s more than you might think, and not covered by my go-to vile vegan blend protein breakfast shake of choice. It’s not about dieting, it’s not about cutting carbs, rather it is about having cruddy weak leg muscles and utterly shit exercise recovery times. Need. More. Protein.

I am also blessed with a Mr who has let his winter culinary shortcuts get the better of him and subsequently requested a revision on our snack supplies, lest his current tummy expansion sneak into beast mode while no one is looking.

So we need more protein and less evil but still readily available snacks and we don’t have a budget (or inclination) to eat four chicken breasts and a head of celery a day each.  What then?

Hummus.

I bloody love hummus. I bloody love that it goes on all my favourite things- like toast and tortilla chips and carrots and I bloody love how easy it is to make a mass stash of it of a Sunday night and not have to worry about work snackage for me (or hometime binges from the fridge for Him) all week long.

For gym and slim types alike, chickpeas are packing in satiating protein and filling dietary fibre with bonus Iron, B6 and Magnesium levels. Tahini also adds about 5% protein by weight and also has a reasonable Iron and Calcium content. Yes, there’s some fat in there too, but I think we’ve stopped demonising that for a little while and I’m not asking you to eat an entire jar of sesame seed paste at a time. Unless you want to. Fill your boots. Plain hummus can get boring and strong, sweet flavours work well with the earthy umami of tahini and the sharpness from fresh garlic and lemon. Flash roasted carrots compliment it perfectly.

So here it is, my roasted carrot hummus, easy to make and keeps in the fridge for well over a week, perfect served from a little tub with some carrot sticks at your desk! I make roughly double the below recipe quantity to last both myself and his-self for a week of snacks and a bit left for Friday night. As with many nutritionally dense foods, hummus has a potentially high calorie payoff at up to 500 calories in a cup so watch your serving size if you are on a slimming mission.

Boomboom Roasted Carrot Hummus

2 large carrots
Rapeseed oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 400g tin of chickpeas
2 cloves garlic
1-2tbspns tahini
extra virgin olive oil
freshly squeezed lemon juice
sea salt
black pepper
fresh coriander leaf –optional

Hummus constitution is a thing of great preference, so I would urge you to tinker with the levels of tahini, lemon and olive oil you use until you find your groove with this one.

Peel and chop your carrots and toss them with the cumin then roast in a hot oven (200C+) for about 30 minutes until they are soft and just starting to caramelise. Leave to cool- don’t drain off the oil.

Very finely mince the garlic and add to a food processor with the drained chickpeas and the carrots wi ththe oil & cumin they were cooked in. Blitz to a rough consistency then add the tahini, lemon and olive oil about 1/2 tbspn at a time until you have your preferred result. I tend to use 2 tbpsns of tahini, half a lemon and 1 tbspn of olive oil to a single tin of chick peas.

Season with salt and pepper then stir through as much finely chopped coriander as you fancy, if you’re using it. Serve. Boom.

Variations- weight watchers can sub the olive oil for the chickpea water from the tin but this alters the taste signiicantly. You could swap the carrots for roasted white or red onions.