Of all the meals that I plan for the bush, the one that I always struggle to feel inspired by is lunch.
For the times when I’ve been busy in the week and can’t be bothered to plan too hard, I’ll go for my ‘standard’ of a small foil packet of salmon or tuna, some rice crackers and cheese. After 10 years, this gets pretty boring, especially if you’re on an extended walk of 4 days or more.
Recently, (after being inspired by reader Bernie Boo in a comment) I decided to experiment with making my own hummus at home and dehydrating it. All I can say is, “yum”! Sure, you can buy commercially made dehydrated hummus*, but why bother when it’s so cheap, tasty, quick and easy to make your own.
- 400g can chickpeas (drain & rinse)
- 2-3 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tbs tahini
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp lemon rind
- 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh coriander
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Sprinkle of smoky paprika
- 60ml water (or enough for good consistency)
- 100ml olive oil
Basically, I just chucked everything except the oil and water into the blender and wizzed it until the consistency was good, then just drizzled in the oil/water until it was smooth and lump free.
Then it was simply a matter of spreading out the dip on the dehydrator flat tray (or use aluminium foil to make your own inlays for the ‘holey’ trays) and dry until crumbly like kitty litter.
The time it takes will depend on a variety of factors like the power of your dehydrator and the humidity in the air. Mine took about 8 hours during a Sydney Winter’s day.
Don’t forget to use the other trays for drying other savoury items at the same time. I dried some red capsicum (peppers) to go with the dip!
When it’s finished, pop into portion sized ziploc bags, label and store in the freezer for your next outdoor adventure.
Then at camp, simply add water to the bag and squish/squeeze it around to rehydrate and enjoy with crackers or whatever takes your fancy!
I’m so excited by the outcome that I’m now going to experiment with dehydrating some babaganoush (eggplant dip) and a few other combo’s to keep the variety up.
TIP: Before putting into the ziploc bags, put the dehydrated hummus through the blender again to reduce it to a fine powder. This will help it to rehydrate quicker with a smoother consistency.
