Chickpea Dip with Toasted Cumin and Pomegranate

This Chickpea Dip is made flavorful with toasted cumin and pomegranate seeds. It’s a delicious dip that’s easy to make and pretty to display at parties!

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Chickpea Dip with Toasted Cumin and Pomegranate

This recipe is easy to make, festive-looking and it was devoured quickly by guests at my husband's big birthday bash.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 27 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chickpeas, cumin, pomegranate

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 219kcal

Author: RecipeGirl.com (re-printed with permission from Amy Sherman's New Flavors for Appetizers)

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• sea salt
• 2 medium lemons
• Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• ¼ cup fruity extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup pomegranate seeds
• pita chips or baguette slices, for serving

Instructions

• In a small, dry frying pan over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds, shaking the pan often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Pour onto a plate to cool.
• In a mortar, combine garlic and a pinch of salt and crush to a paste with a pestle. Add the toasted cumin seeds and grind them together with the garlic.
• Grate enough zest from 1 lemon to measure ½ teaspoon and then halve and juice both lemons.
• In a food processor or blender, combine the chickpeas, garlic-cumin mixture, lemon zest, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ cup water. Process the mixture until very creamy, adding more water if needed to achieve the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice..
• Scrape the dip onto a large plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds. Serve with pita chips or baguette slices

Notes

• If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you'll need to grind the toasted seeds in a spice grinder. If you don't have either, improvise by using ground cumin and mix well in a small bowl with garlic and salt. (You'll be losing out on the "toasted" flavor of the cumin.)

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 219kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 124mg, Potassium: 350mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 30IU, Vitamin C: 16mg, Calcium: 53mg, Iron: 3mg