Hummus: Keeping Your Herbs in Check

Having fresh herbs within arm's reach is one of the best parts of summer, but don't turn your back for a minute!  Your basil will get woody; your dill will get flowery.  Those two love being clipped, so they can send out new growth.  Hummus is one way to use a lot of those herbs in between other delicious recipes.  You will need a food processor for sure.

I keep the basic ingredients for hummus year round, but adding fresh herbs in the summer makes something very simple sing.  One slight difference is that I never have tahini, so look elsewhere for a how-to that includes the tasty sesame seed paste.

3 cups cooked garbanzo beans, or 2 cans
juice from 1/2 of a lemon (Add as much as you want!)
2 garlic cloves (crushed and minced)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt
¼ cup water reserved from the can of beans
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil*

*Below are the modifications I make to the basic plan.   I hold off on the olive oil because I use sun dried tomatoes packed in oil.   Some of the oil comes with them, so I eyeball how much of the other olive oil I should use to make up for the difference.

If you want to add Parmesan cheese, skip the salt.   You can adjust the salt to taste at the end of the blend.

Give two handfuls of sun dried tomatoes a rough chop and add them to the bowl.

Add a teaspoon of dried pepper flakes.

At this point, I add either dill or basil because those are the two that always need clipping.

If you are adding fresh dill, you can snip it with scissors.

If you are adding basil, you can do a quick chiffonade.

All of this goes for a spin in the food processor.  Add as much of the herbs as you want.  A spatula will help you scrape down the sides, so everything gets blended.

Hummus is a treat that's easy to share, so you may as well make a second batch while you've dirtied up the bowl of your food processor.