Any season, chickpeas, garlic, lemons, cucumbers

Hummus

Smooth chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon, garlic and olive oil. Chickpeas have been farmed in the Middle East for thousands of years, and many families make hummus at home.

About 20 minutes

Picture cards for your child

Ingredients

Servings

Each serving is about 1/3 cup.

Tools

a bowl
a citrus juicer
measuring cups and spoons
a food processor
a large spoon

Your child chooses

Your child decides how many chickpeas to peel, a few or a whole pile.
Your child chooses what to dip, cucumber slices or soft bread.
Your child tastes and decides whether the hummus wants a little more lemon.
Your child chooses how to finish the bowl, a swirl of olive oil on top or plain.

Steps

Wash hands with soap and water.
Rinse the chickpeas in the bowl.
Squeeze a chickpea gently and slip off its skin.
Press the lemon halves on the citrus juicer.
Measure the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
Put everything into the food processor.
An adult blends the hummus until smooth, adding the water a little at a time.
Spoon the hummus into a bowl.

Your child's part

Two and three

Rinse the chickpeas, slip the skins off a few and drop ingredients into the food processor bowl while it is off.

What to expect. Slipping skins off chickpeas is fascinating at this age, and some chickpeas will roll away or get eaten. A few minutes at the bowl and a return for tasting is a full part in the recipe.

Four and five

Juice the lemon, measure the tahini, oil and salt, and watch the hummus turn smooth as you add the water.

What to expect. Squeezing the lemon and watching the food processor are big draws, and juice on the counter is normal. Expect lots of tasting with a spoon.

Six and up

Juice, measure and spoon out the hummus, then taste and decide if it wants more lemon, salt or water.

What to expect. Older children can make most of the hummus and enjoy adjusting the lemon, salt and water to their taste. Peeling chickpeas takes patience, and stopping partway is fine.

Taste and compare

Set out a few whole chickpeas, a spoonful of tahini and a slice of lemon beside the hummus. Look, smell and taste each one, then taste the hummus and see which you can still find.

I wonder

I wonder what a chickpea looks like inside its skin.
I wonder how the chickpeas became smooth.
I wonder what we could dip into our hummus.

Clean up together

Your child puts the chickpea skins and lemon peels in the compost.
Your child rinses the citrus juicer right away, before the pulp dries on.
Your child washes the measuring spoons and sweeps their space.
An adult takes out the food processor blade and washes it by hand.

Storing it

Keep hummus covered in the refrigerator, and put it away within 2 hours of making it.
Eat it within 3 to 4 days.

Connections

Garlic and lemons grow in many gardens and are at the market all year.
Cucumbers in summer, and soft bread any time, are good for dipping.
Chickpea skins can go to the compost.
All year, since cooked or canned chickpeas keep well.

Safe hands

There is no cutting in the hummus. If you serve cucumbers beside it, children can cut them with a child knife, with an adult right beside them (close supervision).
An adult runs the food processor and handles its blade, which is very sharp.
Tahini is a paste of sesame seeds, a common food allergy. Check with everyone at the table before serving.