So my first foray into the world of cauliflower based hummus recipes was this super delicious Roast Cauli Hummus.
And while I love it so much. And while it’s been a very popular recipe on the SVCS, I found I wasn’t cooking it very often because I just didn’t have the time to roast the cauli first. And I often couldn’t be bothered getting the food processor out.
So this week I thought I’d see how I went with just boiling the cauli first and pureeing it with my stick blender.
A fraction of the time.
Just as delicious. My Irishman even said he thought it tasted the same regular chickpea hummus. Win!
Quick Cauli ‘Hummus’
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium cauliflower about 500g / 1lb
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup tahini (150 g / 5 oz)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (80 g / 3 oz)
Instructions
- Bring about 2cm (1in) salted water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Chop cauli into bite sized chunks. Slice the stems.
- Simmer cauli, covered for 10 minutes or until cauli is tender. Drain. Run some cold water into the saucepan to cool it down. Discard the water and return the warm cauliflower to the pan.
- Add garlic, tahini and lemon juice. Puree with your stick blender until the texture is as smooth as you like. Taste and season generously with salt and more lemon if needed.
Variations
no tahini – tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Make sure you get hulled tahini because the unhulled stuff tastes really bitter and way too much like a ‘health food’. You can order online or try your health food store (my supermarket stocks it). If you can’t find it the best substitute is almond butter or cashew butter. But I have been known to use peanut butter in a pinch.
more saucy – add some water to make it less thick.
richer – sometimes I add a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
traditional hummus – replace cauliflower with canned or home cooked chickpeas (you’ll only need about 4 tablespoons each of the tahini and lemon). Chickpeas are a bit carby so I try to go easy on them.
different veg – broccoli or eggplant (aubergine) are my fave low carb alternatives. Roast root veg especially butternut or sweet potato are also fab.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
cauli – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for weeks. To keep for longer, chop into florettes and pop in the freezer. If you have time, grating the cauli before freezing will make life easier so you can just defrost and serve.
garlic – will keep in the pantry for months. Best if in a dark corner in a brown paper bag.
tahini – I keep mine in the pantry but will keep longer in the fridge if open.
lemon – whole lemon will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
Prepare Ahead
Absolutely! I actually think it tastes best when it’s cooled to room temperature. Will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and can be frozen.
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Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Made this tonight to go with the feta and meatballs, and I love it. It is nice and light and has great flavor. The other thing that got me really excited about it is that I was able to use my stick blender successfully (i.e. all the food stayed in the pot) for the first time ever. I like that this has a lighter feel to it than the traditional hummus and your almond hummus. One other note: somewhere I learned that if you have difficulty digesting raw garlic, let it soak in lemon juice. I must have left it in the lemon juice for at least 10 minutes, and I had no clue that I was eating raw garlic. This recipe is a really big win all the way around.
Brilliant Susan! And thanks for the garlic tip 🙂
Is there a way to add this recipe to my inbox? I’m still learning the ins & outs of the site. Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi Jen
This is an older recope that needs to be updated to the new format before you can save it – my assistant Caroline will let you know when it’s updated
Thanks for your quick response!