Lemony Garlic Scape Hummus

It's too freaking hot out to cook.  And yet I decided it would be a brilliant idea to bake a loaf of banana bread and a rhubarb coffee cake.  Oops.  So with all of that slaving away in the already hot kitchen I couldn't bear the idea of cooking anything else.  So I made hummus and rinsed some cherries that we picked up from the farmers' market last weekend.  Actually, this hummus also uses a few ingredients from the farmers' market - a garlic scape and flat leaf parsley.  If you're not familiar with garlic scapes, they are crazy green curly stalks that farmers cut off the top of the garlic bulb.  They taste like garlic and are relatively potent, but raw garlic scapes don't have quite the bite that raw garlic can have.  I guess they are a little mellower, but that's not exactly the word I am looking for...  Anyway, rather than garlic cloves I decided to use the garlic scapes that were hanging out in the fridge.  The result was a very fresh and bright hummus with a lovely blend of garlic flavor and lemon acidity.  The Greek yogurt gave it a really nice smooth and creamy texture and a little tang.  And then you had just a hint of heat from the cayenne.  I had originally contemplated throwing in a little cumin, but I'm glad I didn't because I feel like the smoky flavor of the cumin wouldn't have complimented the flavors of the lemon and garlic scape.  I also thought about adding some tahini, but I'm glad I left that out too.  Sometimes I feel like the tahini contributes to a grainy texture that I don't enjoy.  And I think that the tahini flavor would have muddied the flavors of the lemon and garlic scape.  It was just lovely.

Recipe after the jump!

Lemony Garlic Scape Hummus

INGREDIENTS:

1 garlic scape, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

19oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 tbsp evoo

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp Greek yogurt (we used nonfat)

s&p

In a food processor, combine the rinsed chickpeas with the garlic scapes, evoo, cayenne, parsley, lemon juice and Greek yogurt.  Process until almost smooth.  Using a spatula, push mixture down into bottom of processor bowl.  Season with s&p.  Pulse food processor to combine.  Add additional evoo or Greek yogurt if necessary until you have a smooth light paste.

Serve with pita.