Chocolate...hummus? I'm not sure how to describe this delicious, healthy chocolate dip to you except to say that if you're looking for a healthy, vegan friendly dessert for a party or a night in, then give this chocolate dip a try! It tastes like chocolate cake mixture and is made in 5 minutes in a food processor or Thermomix and is made with cocoa and chickpeas as a base but doesn't taste punishing or overly healthy! If you love something chocolatey delicious but still want it to be nutritious and healthy then this is a pushy recipe Dear Reader!
I can't remember the first time I heard about chocolate hummus. TBH it didn't seem right to me-hummus but chocolate? Was it savoury or was it sweet? There's no real equivalent dish to this except melted chocolate in a fondue but this chocolate hummus isn't runny like melted chocolate. I spend a good few months occasionally wondering about chocolate hummus before finally just trying it. And you know what? It was DELICIOUS.
Even if you aren't looking for a healthy chocolate dessert and you just want one with a bit more nutrition to it, then please try this chocolate dip! It doesn't taste odd or like you're compromising on flavour for something healthy. It just tastes damn good. And if you love the chocolate and peanut butter combo then you're in for a treat. You can also make this in the Thermomix.
The idea for dessert hummuses came from Makenzie Marzluff who pitched the idea on the tv show Shark Tank in 2014. While a lot of people call it appropriation others say that food has to evolve and it brings attention to hummus (but really, does hummus need attention?). So I hesitate calling it chocolate hummus. And while there are chickpeas, there is no garlic, olive oil, lemon or tahini in this like the Middle Eastern hummus dip. The chickpeas and blending thereof are the only thing in common with traditional savoury hummus.
Tips for Making Chocolate Dip
1 - You can use tinned chickpeas or you can also use tinned white beans or black beans - I'm sure you know how good beans and legumes are for you. They add a lot of nutrition and fibre in your diet.
2 - Now comes the fun part: the nut butter you use gives it a different flavour. I love it with peanut butter because then you get a Reese's choc and peanut butter flavour to it. Nutella also works well if you prefer a chocolate hazelnut vibe and try pistachio paste if you want to go fancy!
3 I used pure maple syrup but feel free to use honey or another sweetener that you like. Maple syrup is expensive and I did end up using most of the bottle but maple flavoured syrup is also an alternative.
4 Storage: this dip keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
I served this to the Elliotts at a picnic this past weekend and they absolutely loved it. Nobody thought that it was weird at all and the kids devoured it. My in-laws are very unique people and really unlike any other people that I've ever known because they are extremely alternative and really quite wild at times.
And while Mr NQN is the most mainstream of his family there are occasional quirks that will surface. Last month we were on holiday in Taormina in Sicily and I had decided that that was where we would splash out on a nice hotel. I mean a modestly nice hotel because the Four Seasons Taormina from The White Lotus is almost $4,000AUD a night and is completely sold out so we weren't even entertaining that level of hotel.
Still I absolutely loved our hotel and its incredible, sweeping views of Taormina. We were only there one night and the next morning we had a long drive to Palermo so we made sure to wake up for breakfast. I usually skip breakfast during everyday life but I love hotel breakfasts and a hotel breakfast buffet. Mr NQN went off to get some fruit while I looked for savoury breakfast options. I made myself some scacce bread, sun dried tomatoes, cheese and mortadella. He sat down with his fruit.
Instead of helping himself to a fruit salad he had one plate piled with whole fruit. "That is the breakfast of a maniac," I said to him surveying the whole banana, apple, peach and pears. "Didn't you see the fruit salad?" I asked him. It was a really nice fruit salad full of fresh, good quality fruit like fresh pineapple, berries and peaches. "I didn't see it," he shrugged chomping down on a pear.
Mr NQN didn't grow up going to restaurants or staying in hotels so I whispered to him that the whole fruit is the fruit that you take or pinch when you're on your way out of the buffet and just want a snack during the day. But because Mr NQN is a very law abiding citizen it took him a while to get into taking the whole fruit on the way out. But having seen the beauty of this idea he has now become the person that takes a piece of fruit with him at every hotel breakfast buffet!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever take a piece of fruit with you at the hotel buffet for a later snack? What is your hotel buffet selection like, is it sweet or savoury? And have you ever heard of chocolate hummus?
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