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!

Edamame Hummus

I'm not sure why dips appeal to me so much, but they really do.  I love anything that you can serve with pita, or spread over slices of baguette.  Unfortunately, some dips (like most spinach and artichoke dips) are full of fat (not to mention dairy, which is bad when you're lactose-intolerant like I am).  So I generally try not to indulge too much, but I just can't stop myself when it comes to hummus.  I love hummus.  And I am always looking for a new and better hummus recipe.  This time I decided to mix it up and make an edamame hummus.  The addition of edamame gave me some trouble in deciding what herbs and spices to mix in - Alex suggested shichimi togarashi, but that just didn't sound right.  In the end I went with more traditional hummus flavors and just used some tahini, lemon juice, parsley and cayenne pepper.  Texturally, edamame hummus is always a little grainier than white bean hummus or traditional hummus.  I think it has something to do with the fiber content, but I'm not a nutritionist so I don't really know.  Anyway, I really liked this hummus.  I think Alex prefers regular hummus, but there was something nice and fresh about the edamame hummus.  It does rather resemble guacamole or some form of avocado mousse, but I can't hold that against it since avocado is quite delicious.

Recipe after the jump!

Jalapeno Hummus

Ever since the success of our first hummus attempt, I have been considering different hummus recipes to try.  Should I make jalapeno hummus (which I love)?  Or red pepper hummus?  Should I go completely outside the box and make black bean hummus or white bean hummus?  Or should I make more traditional hummus?  Today I was in the mood for something lightly spicy, but not too complicated.  I think that's mostly because for the past week plus I have been gorging myself on food in various Aruban and NYC restaurants.  After eating so much rich and intensely flavorful food, I wanted something light and simple.  So I took a traditional hummus and added jalapeno and a pinch of cayenne pepper for some additional kick. 

Thus hummus had good flavor, but it wasn't as creamy and different as the Smoky Chipotle Hummus I made a few months ago.  You can taste the chickpeas and tahini more in this recipe than in my previous hummus, and you can taste the jalapeno without it overwhelming you with spice, which is kind of what I was looking for today.  Generally I love funky, outside the box foods, but sometimes I really want simpler, more traditional flavors.  This totally fit the bill.

Recipe after the jump!

Smoky Chipotle Hummus

2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)*

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies**

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 4-ounce jar sliced pimientos in oil, drained

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Smoky-Chipotle-Hummus-with-Garlic-Bagel-Chips-105661#ixzz0klNV4Ckn

For our dinner party last night we made both tzatziki and hummus to serve with pita and some of those mini sweet peppers that are super tasty.  Since I couldn't decide which one I wanted to make, I made both.  Sometimes less is more, and sometimes more is just... more.  The only problem with making both sauces/dips was that I had to wash my food processor twice.  Oh well.  It was worth it!

The smokiness of this hummus was wonderful.  I tend to love spicy hummus recipes, rather than the more traditional hummus flavored simply with tahini and lemon juice.  Nothing against traditional hummus, but spicy hummus is just way better.  Generally I go for jalapeno hummus, rather than chipotle hummus, but this time I was in the mood for something a little different.  This hummus is all about the smokey flavors of the chipotles and the ground cumin.  I loved the smokiness, but if you're not into smokey flavors, the combination of the chipotles and the cumin might be a little much.  Feel free to omit the pimentos if you don't have any, because I don't feel like they really added anything in terms of taste to the hummus itself, but they are nice for a burst of additional color. 

Recipe after the jump!

Hummus with Cinnamon Lamb (Houmous bil erfeh lahem)

Somehow I have never made hummus before.  I always have it in the fridge and I go through phases where I eat Tribe's jalapeno hummus by the truckload.  I absolutely love spicy hummus - the spicier the better.  Why have plain old hummus when you can spice it up?  

That was the rationale behind trying out this hummus recipe.  It had a fascinating sounding list of spices and ingredients - cinnamon, garlic, red chili flakes, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, parsley, lamb and evoo?  Yum.  And this recipe totally lives up to its promise.  The interplay between the spices and the freshness of the lemon and parsley make for a very unique and seriously delicious mouthful.  This was the first recipe I have ever tried from this cookbook (after literally bookmarking dozens of them to try), and I am totally going back for more.  I love street food!


Recipe after the jump!