The amazing aromas of shawarma seasoned meats are transferred to roasted chickpeas and made into a vegetarian shawarma hummus!
It’s time to switch gears from my Southern Tapas series and get ready for tailgating season! Once I get the kids back in school I feel like the holidays, and party season, in particular, is staring us in the face. Tailgating, holiday parties, and non-stop munching requires appetizers, tapas, dips, and all things snacky so I am kicking off my favorite time of year with a Shawarma Hummus.
Wait a minute! Isn’t shawarma meat?
Why yes it is! It is a Mediterranean technique for cooking marinated meats on a vertical “spit” or open grill. The meats are stacked on a large skewer and it rotates while passing by a vertical grill, cooking it much like a rotisserie. The meats are then shaved off to allow the now exposed parts of the meat stack to cook. Typically the meats are served in a flatbread or pita with dressing and other vegetables. The best of “street food” or “fast food” if you will. When we traveled to NYC a few years ago we would see the food carts lining the street and people waiting for their turn to get a taste of the shawarma.
Typically the meats are served in a flatbread or pita with dressing and other vegetables. The best of “street food” or “fast food” if you will. When we traveled to NYC a few years ago we would see the food carts lining the street and people waiting for their turn to get a taste of the shawarma.
I wanted to bring the flavors of the shawarma meats, make it vegetarian and then into a dip that I can then eat with my veggies. It is a lot less portable but also, a lot less messy. Gluten free too!
Let’s start with the shawarma seasoning.
Admitting that I am not adept at using Mediterranean spices other than my Greek Seasoning Mix, I look for new spice mixes to try and make my own. I went out on a limb with my Chai spice as I am not a big fan of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, but my biggest leap is the Shawarma seasoning.
A fellow blogger has a great starting off point to the shawarma seasoning and then I add/eliminated the things I liked/didn’t like to make it my own. I posted the new less intense shawarma seasoning mix yesterday so grab it and make a batch!
Once the chickpeas are roasted and all yummy tasting with the shawarma seasoning, whip up some homemade hummus.
I grabbed a few tricks from my friend Tara at TaraTeaspoon to make super creamy homemade hummus. Her tricks are simple and make great hummus!!! Just a few extra minutes are needed.
Her tips include cooking the chickpeas in their can water and adding a little baking soda. This helps remove the skins from the chickpeas. She then adds the chickpeas to the other ingredients and while blending, she drizzles in hot water. This gives you the super creamy texture.
For my Shawarma hummus recipe, I roast one can of the chickpeas in the oven with the shawarma seasoning and cook the other can per Tara’s instructions. Then we combine the shawarma roasted chickpeas with the cooked chickpeas in the blender.
I save a few of the oven-roasted chickpeas for garnish along with some parsley.
This shawarma hummus is perfect for all your tailgating and snacking needs for the rest of the season. Keep a few batches in your fridge and some of those oven-roasted chickpeas for nibbling.
When you make this recipe, tag me on social media with #TakeTwoTapas and #ShawarmaHummus and show me all those smiling faces that are gobbling up the shawarma hummus.
I love photos so make them super silly!
MORE PARTY FOODS
Shawarma Hummus with Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Shawarma seasoning less intense version
- 2 cans chickpeas one drained and rinsed, one not
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 teaspoons salt Kosher
- 1/2 cup tahini
- hot water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Drain and rinse one can of chickpeas.
- Pat dry with paper towels.
- Toss the chickpeas and 1 tablespoon olive oil and the homemade shawarma seasoning.
- Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until slightly crispy.
- Remove the roasted chickpeas from the oven and let cool. These can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
- To make the hummus, open the other can of chickpeas.
- Cover chickpeas and their liquid with ½ an inch of water in a medium saucepan.
- Add the baking soda and bring to a boil.
- Boil until chickpeas are soft and hot all the way through.
- Drain and rinse in hot water until all the other liquid and baking soda has been rinsed off.
- While chickpeas are cooking, combine the lemon juice, garlic, salt and tahini in a food processor or blender.
- Pulse and then let sit until the chickpeas are finished cooking.
- Add the boiled chickpeas to the food processor and blend for a minute.
- Add the oven roasted shawarma chickpeas.
- Pulse until both chickpeas are combined.
- Drizzle in a tablespoon of hot water at a time, until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.
- Store the hummus in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.
- When ready to serve the hummus, drizzle with olive oil, parsley, and a few of the shawarma roasted chickpeas.
Nutrition
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Healthy World Cuisine
Wednesday 3rd of April 2019
Must try this "Less intense Shawarma" seasoning We love hummus and love trying different versions. Can life ever achieve normalcy? Heck no! We are moving for the 3rd time this year again at the end of this month. I guess it depends on what your translation of what normal really is. Have a super weekend dear!
Tara
Saturday 9th of September 2017
Holy smokes! This looks so good. I'm so trying your variation when I make hummus again! And thanks for the shout out. xo
Tara
Saturday 9th of September 2017
Holy smokes! This looks so good. I'm so trying your variation when I make hummus again! And thanks for the shout out. xo
Healthy World Cuisine
Friday 18th of August 2017
Must try this "Less intense Shawarma" seasoning We love hummus and love trying different versions. Can life ever achieve normalcy? Heck no! We are moving for the 3rd time this year again at the end of this month. I guess it depends on what your translation of what normal really is. Have a super weekend dear!
chubcheeks@bellsouth.net
Monday 21st of August 2017
I guess normalcy is different for everyone! Maybe chaos is the new normal!