Basil spinach pesto hummus
It never occurred to me that basil and hummus would ever make sense together, not like oats and raisins or chocolate and peanut butter, until I bought Sabra’s new hummus flavour on a whim one day. And oh my goodness was I blown away. This stuff was goooood. It was like I was suddenly whisked away to a fancy Italian restaurant that served fresh basil pesto rigatoni, perfectly crisp garlic bread and the best white wine I had ever tasted.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is hummus we’re talking about, and here I thought I’d already seen hummus in every flavour variation there was. It has paired up with roasted garlic, black olives, roasted red pepper and even sweet potato too, but this is the real deal. It is a match made in heaven and all that other cheesy stuff.
As it turned out, I had a basil plant at its peak, waiting patiently to be pruned. There’s just something about fresh basil, picked straight from the thin, stalky branches of the plush green plant, that reminds me of the liveliness of summer, even when the cool fall weather has already arrived.
So I went about making my own pesto hummus, and I’m so glad I did! Just think: with each mouthful, you can taste the vibrant, fresh flavours of homemade basil spinach pesto with the comforting, creamy, hearty attributes of chickpea hummus. It’s perfect for serving at a party alongside fresh crusty bread and crudites, or spread across a whole-wheat tortilla and topped with tomatoes and sprouts for a quick lunch. Or you can be extra fancy like me and eat it straight from the bowl with carrot sticks while sitting in front of the TV. Enjoy!
PrintBasil spinach pesto hummus
Yield: Makes 2 cups
Ingredients:
To make the pesto:
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach, lightly packed
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil, lightly packed
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1 small garlic clove
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
To make the hummus:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 tbsp pesto (from recipe above)
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 can chickpeas
Directions:
To make the pesto:
- Using a food processor, process the spinach, basil, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper until coarsely chopped, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl if needed.
- While the machine is running, stream in the olive oil and process until distributed. Transfer the pesto to a bowl.
To make the hummus:
- Using the same food processor, process the water, lemon juice, tahini, pesto, salt and pepper until smooth.
- Add half the chickpeas and process until very smooth. Add the remaining chickpeas and process again until smooth. This may take a few minutes.
- Scoop the hummus into a serving bowl and top with the remaining pesto.