Pulses are full of fibre, super-economical and can be utilised in many recipes – my favourite of which is hummus! But so many of us have problems digesting pulses, and struggle to include them in our diet. In this post, I’ll explain why that’s the case, detail how to remedy it and share with you the hummus recipe that got my family eating pulses again after a decade of abstenance.

Pulses can cause digestive issues. Here’s why:

They contain complex sugars called oligosaccharides which humans do not have the enzymes to properly digest. These ferment in the gut causing discomfort and wind.
Their thick skins can be particularly hard and problematic to break down.
They contain compounds called ‘anti-nutrients’ including phytic acid and lectins. These can not only cause many health issues and but also block the absorption of minerals.

My family avoided pulses for over a decade. On a gut-healing journey, we had experienced great improvement in our health through dietary protocols (such as GAPS) but every time we tried to bring pulses back in to our diets, digestive issues returned and we had to swiftly remove them again.

For us, pulses caused excess gas, painful digestive issues and, as our son is sensitive to lectins, an anti-nutrient in all pulses, we were sure they were exacerbating his other health problems.

In order to be able to enjoy pulses and stay healthy, we needed to use all the tools at our disposal to address the problems that they can cause. I developed my anti anti-nutrient hummus to do exactly this. It uses every process I’ve learnt to neutralise the problematic compounds in pulses. Once this is done, it blends them into a delicious smooth hummus! With it, my family can now enjoy tasty, super-economical pulses without issues.

A digestible hummus: How the anti anti-nutrient hummus is different

We can have problems digesting hummus from the supermarket because its ingredients have not been prepared with nutrition and digestion in mind. The chickpeas in it contain high levels of indigestible oligosaccharides plus the anti-nutrients phytic acid and lectins. The tahini is made from sesame seeds which also contain anti-nutrients. In addition, industrial hummus usually contains seed oil, something that, if caring for our health, we want to avoid.

The anti anti-nutrient hummus solves these problems, Here’s how:

We start with chickpeas that have had their skins removed.
We soak the chickpeas for 48 hours, removing a lot of the oligosaccharides and greatly decreasing the anti-nutrients (1).
We cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker, which has been shown to remove oligosaccharides and lectins (2).
We use whole sesame seeds which we soak, neutralising anti-nutrients.
We include spices that aid digestion.

In addition, it’s great to eat this hummus with foods high in vitamin C, like red pepper, as vitamin C has been shown to negate the effects of many anti-nutrients.

The Anti Anti-Nutrient Beetroot Hummus

This vibrant hummus has a sweet, soft and gentle flavour. The beetroot gives the beautiful colour along with the earthy sweetness and the garlic, being roasted beforehand, imparts a delicateness, meaning that the resulting dish isn’t overpowering. It’s speckled with whole sesame seeds that share their bitter flavour as you bit into them.

Equipment:

You’ll need a pressure cooker and a food processor.

Ingredients:

200g chana dal/split chickpeas (chickpeas without the skin)

2 tbsp acidic medium for soaking – apple cider vinegar is a great choice here

50g sesame seeds

380g beetroot

3 cloves garlic

5 tbsp olive oil

5-10 tbsp water

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp whole coriander seeds

Salt and pepper

Time schedule:

As this process involves a 48-hour soak of the chickpeas, it needs to be started two days advance. For example, if you would like to eat this on a Sunday, start the process Thursday evening. The flavour of the hummus improves with time, so don’t be scared of making it the day before you need it!

Method:

Soaking the chickpeas and sesame seeds:

Put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with ample warm water (ensuring it isn’t any warmer than 40°C/104°F) .
Stir in 1 tablespoon of an acidic medium such as apple cider vinegar or sourdough starter discard.
Put a plate over the bowl and leave it in a warm place for 24 hours.
After 24 hours has passed, drain the chickpeas and rinse them well.
Return the chickpeas to the bowl and again cover with ample warm water (ensuring it isn’t any warmer than 40° C/104° F).
Again stir in 1 tablespoon of an acidic medium.
Return the plate to the bowl and again leave it in a warm place for 24 hours.
At the same time as putting the chickpeas in for their second soak, measure the sesame seeds into a small bowl and cover with warm water. Leave these for a 24 hour soak, alongside the chickpeas.

To make the hummus:

Dice the beetroot and roast the small pieces. I like to do this for an hour at 175°C/374°F as the resulting pieces are very sweet.
Roast the garlic by popping the individual garlic cloves into the oven 15 minutes before the end of the beetroot cooking time.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Add the chickpeas, plus 5 cups of water to the pressure cooker (I use an Instant Pot) and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
Vent the pressure cooker and drain the cooked chickpeas.
Once cooled, add the chickpeas, beetroot and garlic (by squeezing it out of the roasted shells) to the food processor.
Drain and rinse the sesame seeds before placing them in a blender too.
Add whatever spices you would like. I use both ground coriander and whole coriander seeds that have been previously crushed in a mortar and pestle.
Measure the olive oil, lemon juice and half the water into the mix.
Blend well, stopping several times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Taste for seasoning and consistency, adding more water plus salt and pepper until it tastes and feels right to you.

The super-digestible anti anti-nutrient hummus — Hummus on a home-made sourdough oatcake

How to eat the anti anti-nutrient hummus

This hummus is great to eat in so many ways. Here are a few of my favourites:

As a dip for carrot sticks, slices of pepper, and, my particular favourite, slices of apple.
Spread onto buckwheat pancakes or naturally-fermented Staffordshire oatcakes, then topped with salad or warm greens and folded or rolled up to eat.
As a colourful topping for a slice of sourdough spelt or rye bread.
Scooped up and eaten on top of a crispy Scottish oat cake.

It’s great for main meal alternative to animal protein but also indispensable in the fridge as a snack for busy days. It’s particularly appealing to children because of its colour!

How to store the anti- anti-nutrient hummus

The flavour of this hummus gets even better with time! You can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It also freezes really well – pack it into a container and freeze for up to a month. Get it out the night before you want to eat it, place it in the fridge and it will be ready for you the next day.

Variations on the anti anti-nutrient hummus

Spices: You do not need to restrict yourself to coriander. I will often use whole cumin seeds (sometimes I’ll pre-roast them) or nigella. Herbs are also possible – fresh coriander works beautifully and sometimes I use rosemary.

Sesame seeds: if you’d like to make a tahini for this hummus, you can roast the sesame seed after soaking and blend them into a paste in a heavy duty grinder.

Beetroot: This hummus can be made without the beetroot. In addition, you could swap out the beetroot for sweet potato, squash, parsnip or any other roasted root vegetable. If you really wanted to up the vitamin C, you could use some raw, grated beetroot.

Garlic: if you prefer your hummus to be more strongly-flavoured, use more garlic or add the garlic raw.

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The Super-Digestible Anti Anti-Nutrient Hummus