HUMMUS (makes approx. 3 cups) 300 g / 10 oz carrots (4 medium carrots) 2 cups cooked chickpeas (I recommend peeling them) 5-6 tbsp / 75-90 ml lemon juice 1½ tsp coarse smoked salt 1 large garlic clove 1/3 cup / 80 ml tahini, hulled approx. ½ cup / 120 ml fridge-cold aquafaba* or water ½ tsp hot chilli powder 2 tsp olive oil
QUINOA CUMIN CRACKERS ¼ cup dry quinoa (I used a mixture of black and white) ½ cup wholewheat flour or chickpea flour (for glutenfree crackers) 1¼ tsp fine sea salt 2 tsp ground cumin
Method
Peel
carrots and chop them into equal size pieces. Coat in a small amount of
olive oil and roast in 200° C / 400° F oven until tender and
caramelised. You can also steam or boil them until tender.
Rinse
your quinoa well and put into a small pot. Cover with water, place a
lid on the pot and bring to boil. Once the water boils simmer for about
12 minutes – or until tender. Drain and set aside.
Set an oven to 180° C / 350° F and line a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper or use a Silpat if you own one.
In
a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, cumin and drained and cooled quinoa.
Add about 6 tbsp of cold water (if using chickpea flour you may need a
touch more as it appears more absorbent) and mix well. If you are using
wheat flour make sure you do not overmix or else crackers will be tough.
Brush
baking paper with a bit of oil and then spread the cracker mixture very
thinly over the paper in several thin strips / blotches. Press it down
with the spoon to make sure the layer is super thin with an occasional
hole peeking out here and there – this will make your crackers light and
crispy. Just make sure the cracker mixture is spread in the same manner
everywhere or else it won’t cook evenly.
Bake for 15 mins on
one side and then flip over to the other side and bake for another 10-15
minutes, until crispy and golden. Remove from the oven and cool down.
Put
peeled chickpeas (this will make your hummus smoother) into an upright
blender together with tahini, 4 tbsp of lemon juice, garlic and salt.
Switch the appliance on and start trickling in cold aquafaba. You need
to add enough to enable your blender to churn the mixture without any
issues (hummus thickens as it rests so do not panic if it seems like a
lot of liquid). In order to help the motor work the thick mixture, make
small circles with the tip of your spatula/or a knife (in the direction
of turning blades) on the surface of the revolving mixture (do not dip
the spatula deeper than literally a few millimetres or else you will
damage the blades). This will help to burst an air pocket under the
surface and helps the motor to churn. You can also use a food processor
but in my experience the hummus will be less smooth.
Finally add chilli to your taste (I used ½ tsp for a bit of a kick) and more lemon juice (I used 6 tbsp in total) if you like.
Serve alongside quinoa crackers. Store leftover hummus in an airtight container in the fridge, it keeps for about 3-4 days.
Notes
*Aquafaba (AF) or bean brine is leftover cooking water
from cooking most legumes. I use chickpea water and have not tried using
any other type yet. You can get it from a can of low sodium chickpeas
or make your own. In this recipe, I used tinned AF, but when making
sweet recipes I always make my own to avoid added salt. When making your
aquafaba, soak dry chickpeas in lots of water overnight, rinse and put
in a large pot with lots of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for
about 1 hour (until beans are soft). Remove cooked chickpeas with a
slotted spoon and what’s left in your pot is aquafaba. If it is too
runny (ideally it should resemble egg whites), you can concentrate it a
bit by simmering it on a low heat (without a lid) until it reaches the
desired consistency. Cool it down and refrigerate for a few hours before
using. It is particularly important in this recipe, as the key to light
and crispy tempura is very cold batter.
If you’ve been paying attention to the food world over the past
several months, you may have encountered the miraculous discovery of
aquafaba. In case you don’t know, aquafaba is the liquid that you find
in cans of chickpeas (and other legumes). Aquafaba translates to “bean
water” and was discovered by a community of people (but largely Goose Wohlt and Joël Roessel).
It is my new favorite ingredient for replacing eggs, and I’m kind of
obsessed. Not much is known about the nutritional/chemical breakdown of
aquafaba yet, but here are a few things you should know about this
magical liquid.
Substituting for eggs
3 tablespoons of aquafaba replaces 1 whole (large) egg. 2 tablespoons of aquafaba replaces 1 egg white.
Uses for aquafaba
Aquafaba whips up like egg whites and can be used for meringues,
pavlovas, and marshmallows, and it can also be used in its liquid form
in some baking applications. People are still experimenting to find all
the uses for aquafaba, but so far I have personally used it as a
replacement in quick breads and cookies, and I’ve made mozzarella cheese that melted beautifully on a pizza. I’m looking forward to more experimentation, but I recommend joining the Vegan Meringues
Facebook group if you are interested in learning more. One great thing
about aquafaba, compared to egg whites, is that you can’t really
overwhip it. Be wary, though. Because aquafaba is so new to the culinary world,
not all its uses have been discovered and it’s not entirely scientific.
Replacing large quantities of egg whites, like in angel food cake,
hasn’t worked for anyone so far. When we tried to use it to replace eggs
in a non-vegan cornbread recipe, the cornbread wouldn’t set up in the
middle. So if you’re experimenting, be prepared for some failures, or
use a recipe that has already been tested with aquafaba!
Does it taste like beans?
Aquafaba kind of has a funky smell, but don’t let that scare you.
Once it’s whipped or used in baked goods, I haven’t detected any
bean-like flavor. Even in the meringues, which were just aquafaba and
sugar (and a little vanilla). Some people are more sensitive, so if you
find the chickpea aquafaba to be too aggressive, the aquafaba from
cannellini beans is more neutral.
Where to Get Aquafaba
The easiest and fastest way to get aquafaba is to buy a can of
chickpeas, and drain the liquid through a sieve into a container. If you
can find unsalted or low-sodium canned chickpeas, all the better. I
typically use regularly salted canned chickpeas, and I don’t think it
has made desserts too salty, but you could always reduce the salt in the
recipe if you find it necessary. If you want to avoid the preservatives, additives and/or BPA that is
often found in canned chickpeas, you can always make your own! See the
recipe below for instructions on how to do it.
Storing Aquafaba
I’ve successfully used aquafaba from the refrigerator for up to a
week. If I need to store it longer than that, I like to divide it among
ice cube trays and freeze it. Putting 1 tablespoon into each slot in the
ice cube tray makes measuring easy. Homemade Aquafaba (Slow Cooker Method) By making aquafaba in the slow cooker you can set it and forget it... no soaking required! Yields 6 cups. Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 9 hr
Total Time 12 hr 10 min
Ingredients4 cups dried chickpeas1 teaspoon kosher salt12 cups water
InstructionsPlace
chickpeas and salt in the insert of a slow cooker. In a large saucepan,
bring water to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the chickpeas. Cook
on low for 9-10 hours, until the chickpea liquid is about 1/2-inch above
the chickpeas. Turn off the slow cooker and allow to cool at room
temperature for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours. As the chickpeas and
liquid cool, the chickpeas will absorb a bit more of the liquid and it
will just cover the top of the chickpeas. The liquid will become viscous
and gel-like as it cools.Place
a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Strain the chickpeas out,
catching the aquafaba in the bowl. Transfer the aquafaba to jars or
other covered container. Refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for
longer storage.*
Notes*Consider freezing the liquid in 1-2 tablespoon amounts in ice cube trays for easy thawing and measuring. By Maria Siriano
Adapted from Bryanna Clark Grogan
