Hummus with caramelized onion
Hummus with caramelized onion is one of many options to take the basic hummus recipe to the next level. We all know hummus, the delicious dip made from chickpeas. But where do they come from, how does the plant look like? The name chickpea comes from the Latin word "cicer" and refers to the plant family of legumes, Fabaceae. Most of us are familiar with the name garbanzo bean; but chickpeas are as well called Bengal gram or Egyptian pea depending on the different variety. They are one of the earliest cultivated legumes with huge health benefits due to their high protein content. They need 100 days to mature. Chickpeas have a well established place in the Mediterranean diet and in other diets since they are so versatile, cheap and widely available. You can buy them dried or canned. The biggest producer of chickpeas is India with over 11 million metric tons, followed by Turkey.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 tins chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
- 2 large brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 5 Tbsp olive oil, divided 3:2
- 1-2 Tbsp sugar
- salt, fresh ground black pepper
- 80 g tahini paste
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin; divided 1/2:1
- 1 tsp ground smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 50 g roasted sesame or sunflower seeds
- 40 g pomegranate seeds
- 2 Tbsp pomegranate reduction or balsamic glaze
- fennel or dill fronds or flatleave parsely for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C.
- Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large pan.
- Add the onions and some salt, cover with a lid and cook for 10 min or until the onions are soft over medium heat. Stir in-between. After 10 min take the lid off and sprinkle the sugar over. Continue to cook the onions until the edges are getting caramelized. Let them cool for a few minutes.
- Mix 1/3 of the chickpeas with the remaining oil, some salt and pepper, 1 tsp ground cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper and bake for 10 to 15 minutes in your preheated oven or until slightly crisp.
- Add 2/3 of the chickpeas into the food processor together with the tahini paste, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, salt, pepper and 100 ml water and pulse until you have a smooth consistency. Add a little bit more water if the consistency is not creamy.
- Add 2/3 of the caramelized onions to the chickpea puree and pulse until smooth.
- Check the seasoning again.
- Spread the hummus on a flat platter and scatter with the roasted chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, sesame seeds and the reduction.
- Finally, decorate with the greenery and serve.