Delicious Chickpea Spread Recipe

Over the last few years, Mediterranean cuisine has gained popularity for it’s easy-to-follow and extremely healthy dishes. It is fresh, light and tasty, and is known to offer a multitude of health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Mediterranean cooking is a simple cuisine, one whose basic tenet is that food should be served as close to its natural state as possible. It is not a cuisine that requires the mastering of complicated sauces or difficult techniques, in fact many cooks tend to roast, fry, grill or boil their foods.

In celebration of all-things related to the Mediterranean Diet, I wanted to share a recipe highlighting one of the core Mediterranean diet staple ingredients: Greek Olive Oil. You can use this as a spread (try it on a sandwich) or use it as a dip with your favorite pita chips or raw veggies! The recipe will make 2 servings.

Delicious Chickpea Spread Recipe

7 oz chickpeas
2 teaspoons PDO Kalamata Greek extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (if desired)

Mash chickpeas lightly in a bowl with a fork. Mix in extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. If desired, add ground cumin. Mash all ingredients together thoroughly or, if a smoother spread is desired, use a food processor to blend the ingredients.