Quinoa cumin crackers with carrot hummus

Quinoa cumin crackers with carrot hummus

carrot hummus and quinoa cumin crackers

Apparently, last Friday was International Hummus Day, did you know that?

I don’t know if it is just me but I cannot ever keep up with all these International Food Days – every day appears to be celebrating something else and I always find out about these things too late. Who comes up with all these strange celebrations anyway? I have a sneaky feeling I know the answer to that…

Anyway, for me almost every day is a hummus day so I don’t need much of an excuse. Inspired by Australian Masterchef, which I’m currently watching with passion (what a crazy way to relax for a food blogger, eh?), I’ve whipped up a bowl of creamy carrot hummus with a side of crispy quinoa cumin crackers.

The crackers are inspired by those I saw on said Masterchef. They looked really tasty and earned the maker of the dish, Olivia, a lot of praise so I thought I will try to re-create them in my own kitchen. Cumin and carrots make a great combo so carrot hummus it is.

smoky carrot hummus making of

carrot hummus and quinoa cumin close up

dipping quinoa cumin crackers in carrot hummus

serves
4
PREP
15 min
COOKING
60 min
serves
4
PREPARATION
15 min
COOKING
60 min
INGREDIENTS

HUMMUS (makes approx. 3 cups)

  • 300 g / 10 oz carrots (4 medium carrots)
  • 2 cups cooked chickpeas (I recommend peeling them)
  • 5-6 tbsp / 75-90 ml lemon juice
  • 1½ tsp coarse smoked salt
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1/3 cup / 80 ml tahini, hulled
  • approx. ½ cup / 120 ml fridge-cold aquafaba* or water
  • ½ tsp hot chilli powder
  • 2 tsp olive oil

QUINOA CUMIN CRACKERS

  • ¼ cup dry quinoa (I used a mixture of black and white)
  • ½ cup wholewheat flour OR chickpea flour (for GF crackers)
  • 1¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
METHOD
  1. Peel carrots and chop them into equal size pieces. Coat in a small amount of olive oil and roast in 200° C / 400° F oven until tender and caramelised. You can also steam or boil them until tender.
  2. Rinse your quinoa well and put into a small pot. Cover with water, place a lid on the pot and bring to boil. Once the water boils simmer for about 12 minutes – or until tender. Drain and set aside.
  3. Set an oven to 180° C / 350° F and line a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper or use a Silpat if you own one.
  4. In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, cumin and drained and cooled quinoa. Add about 6 tbsp of cold water (if using chickpea flour you may need a touch more as it appears more absorbent) and mix well. If you are using wheat flour make sure you do not overmix or else crackers will be tough.
  5. Brush baking paper with a bit of oil and then spread the cracker mixture very thinly over the paper in several thin strips / blotches. Press it down with the spoon to make sure the layer is super thin with an occasional hole peeking out here and there – this will make your crackers light and crispy. Just make sure the cracker mixture is spread in the same manner everywhere or else it won’t cook evenly.
  6. Bake for 15 mins on one side and then flip over to the other side and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until crispy and golden. Remove from the oven and cool down.
  7. Put peeled chickpeas (this will make your hummus smoother) into an upright blender together with roasted carrots, tahini, 4 tbsp of lemon juice, garlic and salt. Switch the appliance on and start trickling in cold aquafaba. You need to add enough to enable your blender to churn the mixture without any issues (hummus thickens as it rests so do not panic if it seems like a lot of liquid). In order to help the motor work the thick mixture, make small circles with the tip of your spatula/or a knife (in the direction of turning blades) on the surface of the revolving mixture (do not dip the spatula deeper than literally a few millimetres or else you will damage the blades). This will help to burst an air pocket under the surface and helps the motor to churn. You can also use a food processor but in my experience the hummus will be less smooth.
  8. Finally add chilli to your taste (I used ½ tsp for a bit of a kick) and more lemon juice (I used 6 tbsp in total) if you like.
  9. Serve alongside quinoa crackers. Store leftover hummus in an airtight container in the fridge, it keeps for about 3-4 days.

NOTES
My quinoa cumin crackers recipe has been adapted from this recipe.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
472
24%
sugars
9 g
10%
fats
20 g
28%
saturates
3 g
13%
proteins
18 g
36%
carbs
62 g
24%
*per serving
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5.0
2 reviews, 12 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Marie:
Can you store the crackers and do they stay crispy?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Marie,
    I think they are best fresh. They will absorb some moisture from the air when stored and lose their crispness a little, I am pretty sure. Ania
Ankur Gupta:
Hi. I tried making these quinoa crackers with whole wheat flour. I baked them using the cake bake option in my microwave. It automatically pre heated the oven and baked these for 15 mins @ 180 degrees. Then I flipped them and baked for another 15 mins. But they dint get crispy. They are still soft and look under cooked. By the end the parchment paper and and crackers from one side turned brown were about to burn.
Can you please help what else could be done. Thank you.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi there,
    I'm so sorry, but I have never tried making them in a microwave (I don't even own one...), but I would say that they simply need to be baked for longer at lower temperature. It sounds like your microwave runs a bit hot, which is why crackers are burning before getting cooked in the middle. It is normal for the edges to get browner than the middle, but the middle definitely should not stay raw while the edges are over. Hope that helps! Ania
The carrot hummus is a dream. So mild in taste! The quinoa crackers turned out on the salty side for me but they paired really well with the hummus. I made double the crackers recipe for the same hummus amount, I did well. Also, it should be stated bold that the baking paper for the craclers need to be oiled. I kinda overread that on my first batch a'd had to waste some of it because of that. All in all, two great recipes.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, I'm pleased to hear that you liked this combo :)
Renee:
Do you had the carrots at the same tine than the chickpeas? I couldn't find a mention of it at the end, maybe I'm just not fully awake!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Renee,
    I presume what you mean is when you should add carrots to the blender? Yes, together with chickpeas and yes, you are right I missed carrots in the instructions - corrected now. :)
Silvia:
This recipe looks absolutely stunning!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Silvia! Really pleased to hear that! :)
Anna Elizabeth:
These look so good, I will definitely be trying out this recipe in the next week :) Watching Masterchef is so addictive...!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thank you! I agree, it keeps me up so late at night that I cannot get out of bed the next day ;)
Benita Walker Gibbs:
Looks yummy! Can't wait to try it~
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Benita! Lovely to hear :)
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