A houmoussy kiss

September 10, 2009 8:51 AM

I love houmous, but my boyfriend is allergic to legumes (peanuts, pulses and the like). Is there a similar dip I can make with tahini, lemon, garlic and something else instead of chick peas? I'm confused as to which beans are legumes and which aren't, and which would work and which wouldn't...
posted by mippy to food & drink (31 comments total)

Never tried this, just throwing this out there: what about cauliflower? Cut into florets, roast it, and then puree with the other ingredients?
posted by teragram at 8:55 AM on September 10

Well, there's baba ganoush. Basically eggplant instead of chickpeas.
posted by booknerd at 8:55 AM on September 10

I would suggest experimenting with substituting other beans that you like. My dad is a huge bean dip fan and has made "hummus" with red beans and black beans. Strictly speaking, it's not hummus, but all the other ingredients are the same and it still tastes great.
posted by hegemone at 8:55 AM on September 10

Baba ganoush
posted by Jaltcoh at 8:55 AM on September 10

baba ganoush: roasted eggplant + tahini. Fab.
posted by goethean at 8:57 AM on September 10

According to the article Hummus and spin-offs, you can make hummus out of just about anything. There's recipes in here for Asian eggplant hummus, edamame hummus (a favorite of mine, but I don't know if they count as a legume?), parsnip hummus... I think the rule is that as long as there's tahini, you can make it with pretty much anything as a "base."
posted by LolaGeek at 8:59 AM on September 10

All beans are legumes, so no help there.

Here's an easy alternative: Baba Ganoush

1 large or 2 medium eggplant
2 garlic cloves, raw or roasted (I prefer roasted)
2 T tahini (sesame paste)
3-4 green onions, finely chopped
Juice of one lemon
Olive oil to taste.

Cube eggplant. Roast eggplant @ 400F until very soft, ~35-40 minutes. Also works well on the bbq, sliced. Cool, then remove peel (if you want a smooth dip; you don't have to)

Blend eggplant with garlic, tahini, green onions, lemon juice. Blend until almost smooth, adding olive oil if and as necessary for the texture you want.

You can add fresh herbs if you want as well: parsley, cilantro or basil all work.

Makes about 2 cups.
posted by bonehead at 8:59 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

I've made this raw zucchini hummus before, and it's tasty. It fulfills the hummus flavors while avoiding the whole legume issue.
posted by darksong at 8:59 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

I would suggest experimenting with substituting other beans that you like.

Beans are legumes. So that doesn't help. This is a good list of things that trigger legume allergies.

I can't think of anything other than baba ganoush and artichoke dip that fill the hummus space without any legume involvement.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:00 AM on September 10

(sorry, all vegetable beans are legumes: coffee, chocolate, vanilla are not).
posted by bonehead at 9:02 AM on September 10

All beans are legumes so you're somewhat hosed... There are lots of other delicious dips you can make -- Babaganoush (or salat chatzilim if you use mayo instead of tahini) is great as everyone else suggests, use a fork to mash the eggplant instead of a food processor and it will taste better (the seeds are bitter when chopped up). Ajvar is also delicious, roast a bunch of red peppers and eggplant, puree the peppers, mash the eggplant, mix with lots of garlic, salt, and oil, eat. If you're a bit more carnivorous, salt cod is the base for all sorts of dips - google Bacalhau/Baccala/Bacalao recipes.
posted by foodgeek at 9:05 AM on September 10

A friend said she's made it with sunflower seads instead of chickpeas and really liked it.
posted by cestmoi15 at 9:13 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

You might want to double check his specific allergies. It would be quite unusual to have a general allergy to legumes ("pulse" is pretty much a generic agricultural term for a fairly broad class of legume crops).
posted by nanojath at 9:19 AM on September 10

I've tried squash before - cooked and pureed butternut squash with tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper - stirred very well, is quite delicious! Makes a pretty good dip, too.
posted by raztaj at 9:20 AM on September 10

As someone who absolutely loathes eggplant in every other form, let me add in to the baba ganoush chorus. In fact, I would say, as a recent convert to hummus (having just made my first roasted garlic version) that I think that eggplant instead of chickpeas is even more fantastic. It's creamier, more dippable, and, well, just as tasty as you want it to be. I haven't tried to make it yet, but it is next on the list.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:26 AM on September 10

cauliflower, seared/roasted eggplant, I bet you could even make something delicious with a firm lightly cooked summer squash. I also wonder about firm grains, like barley, or farro.
posted by Good Brain at 9:38 AM on September 10

Beans are legumes. So that doesn't help.

Wow, big unhelpful comprehension fail there. I'm sure that somewhere in my brain I knew this... perhaps it's time for a second cup of coffee.

Someone mentioned cauliflower earlier... I am a big fan of smashed cauliflower, and while it's not exactly bean-y, it is delicious and could be used as a dip of sorts. This is how I usually go about it:

- Chop up and boil a head of cauliflower till soft

- While cauliflower is boiling, I will season a few tablespoons of olive oil with two pressed cloves of garlic, ground thyme, and red pepper flakes (this is just the combination I enjoy, you could use other herbs or leave out the pepper flakes, which I put in pretty much everything BUT my coffee)

- When cauliflower is finished, strain the water and put it in a food processor along with your seasoned oil/garlic/herb mixture (depending on the size of processor, you may need to blend half the cauliflower at a time) and blend well. If it's not blending as smoothly as you like, you may want to add a bit more oil.

- When it's pretty well blended, I put in maybe 2-3 tbsp of parmesan cheese (I just use the Kraft grated version that comes in a plastic jar, but you could certainly get fancy and grate your own) and mix it in to the puree.

- Salt/pepper to taste
posted by hegemone at 9:41 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

Another vote for roasted cauliflower*, mashed up as smooth as you want it, to replace the chick peas. Break into florets, light drizzle of oil, bit of S+P and if you want, chilli powder as well. Roast in a hot oven until nicely toasty. The dark brown bits are the best bits and give a nutty taste that should substitute well for the chick peas.

*And a public thanks to AskMe for letting me know about this in the first place.
posted by dowcrag at 9:44 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

Kidney beans seem OK with him. It's difficult because he didn't know what an allergy was for years and just thought that he really didn't like peas and lentils.

I've been told cannelli beans and black-eyed beans work, but I don't want to risk a reaction.
posted by mippy at 9:47 AM on September 10

I stumbled upon this just yesterday. Edamame Hummus Not sure if it works with the allergy restriction though.
posted by mrsshotglass at 10:22 AM on September 10

If it were me and I had to go totally bean free, I'd use half roasted cauliflower (for flavor) and half boiled, mashed potatoes (for texture and structure). Then flavor like hummus -- with tahini, garlic, lemon, and olive oil.

And yeah, cannelinni beans would also be a great choice (again, can mix with potatoes) if you get the allergy thing pinned down. Bonus tip: A dip of cannelinnis blended with a potato and flavored with lots of basil and garlic is downright killer.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:38 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

If the cannelli beans you might try this dip. It doesn't have any tahini but you could experiment.
posted by mmascolino at 10:42 AM on September 10

Cannelli "hummus" works just fine too, in my experience, with or without the tahini. It's not quite the same flavour but it still goes down fine.
posted by bonehead at 10:44 AM on September 10

This is surprisingly more hummus-like than you'd expect. I don't know where it originally comes from--I got it from a friend. Even with canned pumpkin, it's very tasty.

*Acorn Squash or Pumpkin Dip with Tahini Sauce*

Ingredients:
1 medium sized pumpkin or acorn squash OR 1 can of pumpkin
3 tablespoons tahini sauce or sesame paste
Juice of one lemon or 5 tablespoons bottled juice
(Recommendation: also add 2 – 3 tablespoons orange juice)
1 big clove of crushed garlic
1 teaspoon salt

Method:
- Cut pumpkin in half (lengthwise or vertically).
- Remove seeds and place in a pan with cut up sides downwards so as to let it broil in the oven.
- Be careful so as not to burn the acorn squash or the pumpkin; i.e. if need be, temperature could be reduced, until you can feel with a fork that the squash is soft.
- Let cool for 5 to 8 minutes, then scoop it with a spoon. Being cooked, it will be mashed.
- Adding all the above ingredients, try to mash it even more, using a spoon or a fork.

OR

- Open your can of pumpkin.
- Add the other ingredients and mash together.


- Pour dip into a bowl.
- Have ready some toasted pita bread wedges or crackers to enjoy the dip.
posted by erigeneia at 11:10 AM on September 10 [2 favorites]

There may be a very good reason he can eat black beans but not chickpeas. Although lentils and pulses are called legumes, there's a difference for us allergic people between them and so-called "New World" beans like black beans and kidney beans. New World beans are all pretty much all Phaseolus while chickpeas, lentils and fava beans are all different species. I can't eat anything but Phaseolus species beans, for whatever reason.

I do love baba ganouj tho. Especially if the eggplant has been lightly smoked.
posted by fiercekitten at 11:21 AM on September 10 [1 favorite]

I've had pretty good luck substituting raw cashews (soaked in water for a couple hours) in place of chickpeas in the hummus recipe I use.
posted by S'Tella Fabula at 11:48 AM on September 10

I get this stuff at my favorite Greek place called melitzanosalata which I think is basically the same as Baba Ganoush. It is fabulous, I like it better than hummus even. And I love hummus.
posted by jockc at 2:48 PM on September 10

I am just confirming that melitzanosalata is the Greek version of baba ganoush. Even my husband, an inveterate eggplant hater loves it.
posted by wildeepdotorg at 4:48 PM on September 10

If he can eat lima beans, those are a good option for hummus. They are a little more "green" in flavor, but still very mild and creamy, like chickpeas are.
posted by darksong at 5:55 PM on September 10

Yeah, sure - use kidney beans.

I've seen people make 'hummus' out of nearly any bean. Kidney beans are softer, so drain them well and blend before deciding whether it needs more liquid.
posted by Elysum at 12:07 AM on September 11

eriginea, may I just add that your pumpkin dip recipe, in addition to being delicious by itself, is also delicious as a ravioli filling with a sage brown butter sauce? Just saying...
posted by LN at 4:25 PM on September 25