How to Make a Mediterranean Hummus Bowl, with Help from FeelGoodFoodie

“My schedule has been so off, my kids are home,” says food blogger Yumna Juwad of FeelGoodFoodie. She sounds like a lot of us at home in 2020! Yumna is adjusting to the new challenges of the pandemic while still sharing healthy recipes (and stunning photos) on her blog.

When I asked her to share a recipe with our readers, it’s no surprise she chose one that required a low amount of effort and was highly versatile: her Mediterranean hummus bowl.

Building a Beautiful Bowl

Yumna is known for beautiful food photos on her Instagram @feelgoodfoodie, which has more than two million followers. Building a Mediterranean hummus bowl is easy because you can use whatever grains, vegetables and condiments you have on hand. Right now, one of Yumna’s favorite photogenic vegetables, watermelon radishes, are in season, so she can get them from the local farmers market.

“They’re tangy and they’re peppery, and when you combine it with that garlicky hummus, the flavors just go so well together,” she says. Any kind of radish will add extra crunch to the bowl while also kicking up the nutritional value.

Beyond topping her hummus with colorful seasonal vegetables, Yumna says the secret to a stunning bowl is olive oil.

Use the back of a spoon to create swirls in the hummus then drizzle it with olive oil. The swirls will fill with tiny pools of oil that create a glistening effect in photos.

Another benefit of adding that olive oil is that it will keep the hummus tasting fresh longer. If you make a big batch, it will stay good for a full seven days, and “all you need to do is cover it and store it in the fridge,” says Yumna.

Not that her hummus ever lasts the full seven days!

Here’s how to make her signature hummus and transform it into a healthy, satisfying Mediterranean bowl. And don’t forget to check out more healthy meals in a bowl.

How to Make Yumna’s Mediterranean Hummus Bowl

Ingredients

For the Hummus:

15 ounce can chickpeas
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1-2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon salt
2-3 ice cubes

Extras for the Bowl:

1 cup cooked quinoa
2 cups baby spinach
½ red onion, sliced
½ pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ English cucumber, sliced
1 cup chickpeas
½ cup olives, pitted
Chopped parsley for serving
Extra virgin olive oil for serving

Directions

Step 1: Peel the chickpeas

Place chickpeas in a bowl of water and rub them together to peel the skin. This step is optional but helps create a creamy texture.

Step 2: Blend the chickpeas

Drain the chickpeas and transfer them to a food processor. Blend them alone until they become powder-like, scraping down the sides as needed.

Step 3: Add the remaining ingredients

Add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic cloves and salt and two to three ice cubes, and blend for about five minutes until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed by adding more lemon juice or salt.

Editor’s note: Ice cubes? Yep, you read that right! Yumna is Lebanese this hummus secret comes from her family and time spent in traditional Lebanese restaurants.

“My dad taught me this ice cube trick,” she says, “and I really recommend it. Even if you don’t think your food processor is strong enough, try using crushed ice instead of skipping it.”

Drop a few ice cubes into the food processor with the other ingredients to create a hummus that will always be fluffy and smooth, instead of thick and pasty. Yumna says that as the ice cube is blended in, it breaks up into tiny ice crystals that gives the dip the texture of ice cream.

Step 4: Serve

Spoon the hummus onto a plate or bowl, and spread the hummus with the back of a spoon to create swirls.

Assemble the remaining ingredients on top of the hummus as desired. Yumna suggests quinoa, olives, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers to fill the bowl, but feel free to customize to your tastes!

More of Our Must-Have Hummus Recipes

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