Do you like hummus? We have a bowl of that deliciousness almost always in the fridge – whether it’s some hummus from the store or homemade hummus like the one I used for this Mediterranean Hummus Bowl. Hummus is simply delicious and can be used in so many recipes – simply as a dip for your bread or veggies, as a side dish, or sometimes as the hero of the dish. There’s no other way to say it – this stuff is just awesome ;P
Hummus is being prepared in the Middle East for centuries already, but this mix of chickpeas and sesame paste was basically unknown in the area I grew up, so I never had a chance to try it when I was a kid. Same for avocados. They did not exist in my “bubble” in the south of Germany in the ’80s (and probably also most of the ’90s). But we had bananas and kiwi. That’s something, right? ;P Anyway. It took a while for hummus to be recognized as something delicious by the masses here in good old Germany. We have a saying here, that explains everything: “Was der Bauer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht” means “Whatever the farmer does not know, he is not going to eat it” ;) That says it all. It took a while for the Germans to change old habits and try something new. They prefer to stick to what they know and try to make that one thing better. That’s why we have over 3000 different types of bread I guess ;)
Anyway. Things change – thanks to social media in parts. Nowadays we are jumping the bandwagon as soon as we see something on TikTok. All I am saying is “baked feta pasta”. Everybody made it and it has even lead to a shortage of feta cheese in some parts of the country. If the Germans are doing something, they are doing it “right”! Just kidding! ;P
Back to the hummus! Did you know there is a foodie holiday dedicated to hummus? Guess what – it’s today! International Hummus Day! Yeah… things like that really exist. Who started it? The Egyptians. Makes sense, because hummus is very popular over there. But today is not only hummus day – in the US it’s also National Apple Pie Day, National Apple Pie Day, National Fruit Cocktail Day, and today is also World Cocktail Day… pick your poison. Just kidding! Again ;P
Well. Some of my food blogger colleagues “et moi” have joined forces and collected some really delicious recipes with hummus as the “hero” of the dish to honor International Hummus Day. So in case you are a hummus fan as well, you might want to check the other recipes as well (most of them are in German, but uncle Google can help with the translations I guess):
moey’s kitchen: Blitzschnelles Rote Bete Hummus mit Walnusskernen
SalzigSüssLecker: Naan-Sandwich mit Bärlauch-Hummus
foodundco.de: Weltbester Hummus mit Kräuteröl
Foodistas: Spinat-Dill-Feta Hummus mit Hackfleisch
Nom Noms food: Cremiger Spinat-Ziegenkäse-Hummus mit fluffigen Spinat-Pita-Broten
S-Küche: Spargel-Hummus
1x umrühren bitte aka kochtopf: Geröstetes Karotten-Hummus – marokkanisch gewürzt!
Hummus is really easy to prepare, by the way. For your homemade hummus, you can use pre-cooked chickpeas from the can. Very Easy. There is no need to use dried chickpeas here – the extra work for soaking the chickpeas and cooking them can be done by a chickpea robot in a factory ;) If you wanted to make falafel, on the other hand, I would definitely go the extra mile and use dried chickpeas instead of the ones from a can. The results are completely different there, depending on what kind of chickpeas you use… just saying.
As for the sesame paste (tahini), you add to the chickpeas… I can only recommend not to get the cheapest sesame paste here. I come from the south of Germany which means I was raised very close to Swabia… this means l really love a good bargain. But with cheap tahini, however, I often had problems, to be honest. It tends to be more bitter than the “good stuff” and also tends to smell musty after a while. Some bitterness is totally normal for tahini, but there is also a “too much”. I prefer to spend a euro more on my tahini in order to get something good. Good tahini leads to good hummus ;)
In case you want more recipes that include hummus – take a look at these delicious dishes. They all get better with a generous dollop of hummus ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the hummus:
8.8 oz. (250g) chickpeas (from a can), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice (plus more if needed)
1/4 cup (60g) tahini (sesame paste)
2 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for serving)
1-2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 tbsp. cold water (plus more if needed)
salt, pepper
For the bowl:
1 can (14 oz./400g) chickpeas
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika powder
some olive oil
5.3 oz. (150g) quinoa (white, black, or/and red)
1 1/4 cups (300ml) water
1.8 oz. (50g) baby spinach leaves
9 oz. (250g) small tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
3.5 oz. (100g) feta cheese, crumbled
some black olives, sliced
some fried pimientos (optional)
For the dressing:
some olive oil
some fresh lemon juice
salt, pepper
Für das Hummus:
250g Kichererbsen (aus der Dose), abgespült und abgetropft
60ml Zitronensaft (plus ggf. mehr)
60g Tahini (Sesampaste)
2 EL Olivenöl (plus mehr zum Servieren)
1-2 Knoblauchzehen, grob gehackt
1/2 TL Kreuzkümmel, gemahlen
1/2 TL Salz
2-3 EL kaltes Wasser (plus ggf. mehr)
Salz, Pfeffer
Für die Bowls:
1 Dose (400g) Kichererbsen
1/2 TL Knoblauchpulver
1/2 TL Zwiebelpulver
1/4 TL Paprikapulver
etwas Olivenöl
150g Quinoa (weiß, schwarz, oder/und rot)
300ml Wasser
50g Babyspinat
250g kleine Tomaten, halbiert
1 kleine rote Zwiebel, in Spalten geschnitten
1/2 Salatgurke, in Scheiben geschnitten
100g Feta, zerkrümelt
einige schwarze Oliven, in Scheiben geschnitten
einige gebratene Pimientos (optional)
Für das Dressing:
etwas Olivenöl
etwas frischer Zitronensaft
Salz, Pfeffer
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. For the bowl start by roasting the chickpeas. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Rinse and drain the chickpeas well, to get even more liquid removed you can place the chickpeas on paper towels. Transfer to the baking sheet and sprinkle with the garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika powder, drizzle with some olive oil and mix to combine. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned.
3. While the chickpeas are roasting cook the quinoa – rinse the quinoa first, then add together with the water to a pot and cook according to the instructions on the package. Mine took about 20 minutes of cooking and 5 minutes of steaming afterward.
4. Wash and drain the spinach leaves, wash and half the tomatoes, peel and slice the onion, wash and slice the cucumber, crumble the feta cheese, slice the olives, and fry the pimientos (optional).
5. For the dressing mix some olive oil with fresh lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to your liking. To assemble the bowl place the spinach leaves in the bowls first, the quinoa, then all the other ingredients. Add some hummus to each bowl (add oil on top), some of the roasted chickpeas, and drizzle everything with the dressing. Season with some more salt and pepper if you like.
2. Für die Bowls zunächst die Kichererbsen rösten. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) vorheizen und ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen. Die Kichererbsen spülen gut abtropfen lassen. Um noch mehr Flüssigkeit zu entfernen, kann man die Kichererbsen auch auf etwas Küchenrolle abtropfen lassen, dann auf das vorbereitete Backblech geben und mit dem Knoblauch-, Zwiebel- und Paprikapulver bestreuen, mit etwas Olivenöl beträufeln. Alles gut vermischen und für etwa 20-25 Minuten rösten, bis die Kichererbsen schön gebräunt sind.
3. Während die Kichererbsen rösten, die Quinoa kochen – dazu die Quinoa zuerst abspülen, dann zusammen mit dem Wasser in einen Topf geben und nach den Anweisungen auf der Packung kochen. Meiner hat etwa 20 Minuten gebraucht und danach noch 5 Minuten abseits vom Herd ausgedampft.
4. Blattspinat waschen und abtropfen lassen, Tomaten waschen und halbieren, Zwiebel schälen und in Scheiben schneiden, Gurke waschen und in Scheiben schneiden, Fetakäse zerbröseln, Oliven in Scheiben schneiden und Pimientos anbraten (optional).
5. Für das Dressing etwas Olivenöl mit frischem Zitronensaft verrühren und nach Belieben mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Für die Bowls erst die Spinatblätter in die Schalen geben, Quinoa, dann alle anderen Zutaten. Etwas Hummus in jede Schale dazugeben (etwas Öl darüber geben), geröstete Kichererbsen und zum Schluss alles mit dem Dressing beträufeln und ggf. mit noch etwas Salz und Pfeffer würzen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Mediterranean Hummus Bowl
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:25
- Total Time: 00:50
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: International
Description
Easy to prepare, delicious, and somewhat healthy – Mediterranean Hummus Bowl with Quinoa.
Ingredients
For the hummus:
8.8 oz. (250g) chickpeas (from a can), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice (plus more if needed)
1/4 cup (60g) tahini (sesame paste)
2 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for serving)
1–2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
2–3 tbsp. cold water (plus more if needed)
salt, pepper
For the bowl:
1 can (14 oz./400g) chickpeas
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika powder
some olive oil
5.3 oz. (150g) quinoa (white, black, or/and red)
1 1/4 cups (300ml) water
1.8 oz. (50g) baby spinach leaves
9 oz. (250g) small tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
3.5 oz. (100g) feta cheese, crumbled
some black olives, sliced
some fried pimientos (optional)
For the dressing:
some olive oil
some fresh lemon juice
salt, pepper
Instructions
1. For the hummus pour the chickpeas from the can into a sieve, rinse with water and let drain. Add the tahini and lemon juice to a food processor or strong mixer and mix for a minute or so until creamy. Add the olive oil, chopped garlic, ground cumin, and salt – mix until well combined. Add about half of the chickpeas to the food processor/mixer and mix for another minute until the chickpeas are creamy. Add the remaining chickpeas and mix for 1-2 minutes more to get a smooth paste. The hummus is probably quite thick at this moment – continue mixing and add cold water until the hummus has a nice creamy and spreadable consistency. Season with some more salt and pepper if needed. Set aside until needed. This can be done up to 2 days in advance.
2. For the bowl start by roasting the chickpeas. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Rinse and drain the chickpeas well, to get even more liquid removed you can place the chickpeas on paper towels. Transfer to the baking sheet and sprinkle with the garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika powder, drizzle with some olive oil and mix to combine. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned.
3. While the chickpeas are roasting cook the quinoa – rinse the quinoa first, then add together with the water to a pot and cook according to the instructions on the package. Mine took about 20 minutes of cooking and 5 minutes of steaming afterward.
4. Wash and drain the spinach leaves, wash and half the tomatoes, peel and slice the onion, wash and slice the cucumber, crumble the feta cheese, slice the olives, and fry the pimientos (optional).
5. For the dressing mix some olive oil with fresh lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to your liking. To assemble the bowl place the spinach leaves in the bowls first, the quinoa, then all the other ingredients. Add some hummus to each bowl (add oil on top), some of the roasted chickpeas, and drizzle everything with the dressing. Season with some more salt and pepper if you like.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
