I remember the first time I tasted hummus, it was probably about 20 years ago and the only place you could get it was from the the Middle Eastern caf in the arcade, both now long gone. I had truly never tasted anything like it, and it certainly surpassed the French Onion Soup mix and cream cheese dip that was beloved all over Australia. How exotic and worldly I felt the first time I served it as nibbles with drinks, probably with Jatz cheese crackers or Saltines!!
Of course it is available everywhere now and although I still enjoy it, it is not something I buy or make all that often. So recently when a friend discovered it for the first time  and was loving it, I thought it was time to revisit. It is so easy to make at home, very healthy and full of protein, in fact there are lots of health benefits of eating hummus…and you know I swear I can’t tell the difference between hummus made from scratch with the dried peas and that made from a tin of chickpeas.
I don’t usually use a recipe now to make hummus, I have made it so often that I just know how much of everything to use. If you haven’t made it before here is a basic recipe and you can adjust to suit your taste. I like to serve it with strips of roasted red capsicum and sprinkled with deliciously tangy sumac. Many recipes sprinkle with paprika to give that gorgeous contrast of red with the creamy hummus.

BASIC HUMMUS

INGREDIENTS

• 1  400g tin chick peas, drained. (I love Macro Organic) Keep the drained juice
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 Tablespoon tahini (I often use home made nut butter instead)
• Lemon juice, start with  about half a lemon then adjust to taste
• Pinch of  salt

METHOD

• Blend all ingredients until smooth, adding juice from chickpeas if necessary
• Taste and adjust flavours such as lemon and salt to taste
• Serve in a bowl with pita crisps

GARNISH

• Sprinkle with olive oil
• Add some texture such as reserved chick peas, strips of roasted red capsicum
• Sprinkle with red spice such as sumac or paprika

Computers are amazing things really. I had just finished looking at basic hummus recipes for this blog and decided I would look for something for my daughter for our special Saturday breakfast. I fancied eggs baked in something so I Googled baked eggs (now that Googled is a word in it’s own right, should one use googled with  small g instead of a capital? Hmmmm…) and in the first few results I saw Baked eggs with Hummus….so tell me, is that  just coincidence, or did Google remember I had just looked at hummus recipes? It’s a bit scary really isn’t it?

Anyway, apart from scary, I think serendipitous is a good word to describe my finding this dish, so I decided to go with that, and it was yummy. I think yummy might be my most commonly used word in my food blogs, but delicious is a bit formal and I can’t think of anything else really…and yummy is just right. Any thoughts there?

Anyway I am going to call this my Serendipitous Baked Eggs with Hummus and I have to thank Teresa Boyce, a nutritionist at  ninemsn Coach, for her recipe

SERENDIPITOUS BAKED EGGS IN HUMMUS

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

1 cup hummus
4 extra-large organic/ free range eggs
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 medium tomatoes, diced
½ cup of olives, diced, black ones add a nice contrast in colours
1 teaspoon of parsley, finely chopped for garnish
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Wild rocket or baby spinach to serve (optional)

I added strips of roasted red and green capsicum before cooking, and sprinkled with sumac when serving

METHOD

You will need individual ramekins or a baking dish to hold 4 eggs for this dish
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius

• Oil each of the four ramekins or baking dish with olive oil
• Spread hummus into the ramekins or baking dish, making an indentation for each of the eggs
• Crack an egg into the indentation
• Sprinkle with diced tomatoes, olives and roasted capsicum
• Place in the oven for 15-18 minutes (depending on the desired consistency of the yolk)
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and sumac or paprika
• Serve with spinach or rocket and enjoy while still warm.

 

Just on 15 minutes I went to take it out of the oven and the phone rang. I should have spent those few extra seconds to take it out  because just a few minutes longer in the oven did mean that the yoke was not as runny as  I would have liked, but still, it was ….well….yummy!!

I know there are lots of variations of hummus, would love to hear any about any that you make.