This is a lovely way to sneak some more greens into your diet, especially if you have kids who aren’t so keen on salads.

Recipe and photo: Extract from Be Good: Plant-based recipes for everybody

Most hummus recipes use oil, but I use chickpea liquid. It tastes just as delicious, and you get richness from the tahini instead. It also makes it much lighter and less calorie-dense, and we don’t really want (or need) to be adding too many extracted oils to our diet. If you do want a richer flavour, try adding a tablespoon of cashew butter or 2 tablespoon of raw cashews instead. Try it out and let me know what you think!

GF, NF, SF, OF

Makes: 1½ cups
Takes: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

400g can chickpeas, reserve liquid
½ cup baby spinach
¼ cup soft green herbs, e.g. parsley, basil or coriander
flesh of ½ lemon (or 2 tbsp juice)
1 tbsp tahini
1 clove garlic
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt

METHOD

Drain the chickpeas, reserving the liquid.

Blend all ingredients, including ⅓ cup of the chickpea liquid, in a blender until creamy and smooth.

Serve sprinkled with seeds if you want to make it look fancy. Otherwise put in a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes
• If you have any green powders lying around (like spirulina/chlorella/ moringa), add ¼–½ teaspoon.
• Keep any spare chickpea liquid in a glass jar in the fridge. Add it to salad dressings, use it in mousse or freeze it. It will last up to 3 days in the fridge or a good 2 months in the freezer.
• I always use unsalted chickpeas. If you’re using salted, reduce the salt measure.

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Extracted from Be Good: Plant-based recipes for everybody by Buffy Ellen Gill. Photography by Buffy Ellen Gill and Lucy Rice. RRP: $45.00. Published by Bateman Books.