Homemade Hummus with Spicy Flax Seed Crackers
These crackers are nutrient dense and ultra-versatile
- For the crackers
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1⁄2 yellow, orange or red pepper
- 100g flax seeds (linseeds)
- 30g ground almonds
- 30g chia seeds
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp tomato purée or passata
- For the hummus
- 1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 60ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
- juice of 1 lemon
- pinch of sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
1. First, make the crackers. Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/gas 1. Brush the pepper with the olive oil, place on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 15–20 minutes, or until softened. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, combine the flax seeds, ground almonds, chia seeds, chilli powder and tomato purée or passata in a food processor or blender along with 25ml water and blitz.
3. Remove the seeds from the cooled red pepper and roughly chop. Add the pepper to the mixture in the food processor and blitz for 30 seconds. If the mixture crumbles or looks a little dry, then add 1 teaspoon of water. Turn the mixture out onto the work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it as thin as possible, about 5mm, then transfer to a silicone baking sheet or tray. Score into squares and bake for about 40 minutes, swivelling the baking sheet a couple of times during baking in case your oven has any hotspots. Remove the crackers from the oven once golden and crisp, and split into squares.
4. Meanwhile, make the hummus. Combine the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, oil, cumin and lemon juice in a food processor or blender along with 50ml water. Blitz for two to three minutes, or until smooth. Add the salt and blitz for a further 30 seconds, then season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Serve the hummus with the crackers.
5. Tahini is crushed sesame seeds. I have made the hummus before with unsalted almond butter when I didn’t have any tahini, and it worked really well!
The Immunity Cookbook by Kate Llewellyn-Waters, (Quadrille, £20.00). Photography: © Steven Joyce.
