We hardly ever go a week without hummus on our menu – it’s a great source of protein and iron, which is great for us vegetarians, and the children love it. When we’re in Italy and usually have easy lunches that are a mishmash of whatever we have around – a wedge of good pecorino, crisp paper thin Sardinian flat bread (“carta music”), fresh tomatos, a slice of melon, olives – the children usually fill up on hummus. We often bring it to the beach as an afternoon snack. And for the rest of the year, hummus, pita bread, cous cous, grilled halloumi and veggies is a dinner we often enjoy.

The other day I made the kids these simple quesadillas with hummus, avocado and feta for lunch and they were a big hit. Such an easy way to get lots of hummus and avocado into them. I had mine with a splash of lemon and a bit of sea salt and also thought they were pretty great.

Here are our three favourite hummus recipes:

Way back when I often used to make Jamie Oliver’s version of hummus, without tahini (which used to be a bit difficult to find in Sweden). The chili and lemon gives this hummus a nice kick. It’s easy to make and great on pita chips as an hors d’oevre at a party.

Jamie Oliver’s Smashed Spiced Chick Peas

Ingredients

1(14 ounce) can chickpeas

1 teaspoon cumin

2 small dried red chilies, crumbled (or chilli flakes to taste)

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 lemon, juice of

salt & fresh ground pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Mix everything in a food processor or other mixer. Add olive oil until the desired consistency is reached.

When my children started to really eat hummus I looked for a recipe that was a little smoother, creamier and milder than a traditional hummus. Unless you have a really amazing food processor (I don’t), the chick pea skins can make it difficult to get a really smooth hummus. By using white beans instead, this hummus has a silky smooth consistency. This is our most-used hummus recipe.

Smooth & Creamy White Bean Hummus

Ingredients

2 tins white beans (cannelini work well – I often use a mix of white beans)

½-1 cup tahini

¼-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1-2 lemons

water

Sea salt and pepper to taste

optional: fresh parsley

Instructions

Mix everything in a food processor or mixer. Add water or olive oil until the desired consistency is reached.

Last week, one of the dinners in our recipe delivery service included this hummus. It’s without tahini, lemon and garlic – instead it has a bit of white wine vinegar and a lot of cumin – but it’s actually really really good. And super quick and easy to make. I really love that it doesn’t have any garlic because I tend to avoid hummus in my weekday lunch or snack because I don’t want it on my breath. It’s a great little recipe to have for everyday lunches.