4.16.2007

A New Version of Green Hummus:
Whipped Chickpea, Spinach, and Potato Spread
A variation of Judith Barrett's version from her cookbook
Fagioli (recipe found on page 36).


Chickpea Spread
1 cup dried chickpeas, rinsed and picked over
1 small new potato (Yukon Gold, Yellow Fin, etc), peeled and quartered
1 small red onion, chopped
zest of one lemonjuice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
warm water
5-6 handfuls of spinach, washed well

Note: I like the taste and texture of beans cooked from scratch, but of course this could also be made with canned chickpeas. Start with two 14-ounce cans of chickpeas (aka ceci beans / garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed. Cook the potato separately. This little edit should get you going in the right direction.

Prepare Beans and Potato
Soak the garbanzos overnight. Drain soaking liquid, and refill with enough water to cover the beans by about an inch. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, and allow to simmer until beans are tender. Add the potato to the pot (or cook it in another water-filled pot) until tender; another 10 minutes or so. Drain any extra water at this point and set beans/potato aside.

Prepare Additonal Ingredients
Add a splash of olive oil to a hot skillet, and throw in the spinach. It should collapse within 10 or 20 seconds. Immediately remove from heat and salt to taste. Alternatively, you may also choose to heat some water in the bottom of a large skillet and then toss in the spinach. This option allows you to steam the spinach and slightly reduce the amount of oil used in the recipe. If you decide to steam the spinach, make sure that you press it through a strain before adding the collapsed leaves to your food processor mixture.

Combine the chickpeas, potato, spinach, 1/4 cup red onions, lemon zest and juice, and a few big pinches of salt in a food processor. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil. Chances are your mixture is on the dry side at this point and you may need to add warm water a few tablespoons at a time until the spread is a rich, creamy consistency. Season carefully, if you under salt the flavor will be flat; likewise if more acidity is needed, add a bit more lemon juice. (Note: For personal health reasons, I used more lemon juice since I do not salt the foods I make from scratch. The result was very delicious).

Put a spoonful of the spread on crostini, toasted pita bread, or your choice of whole grain cracker. Finish with a drizzle of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil and even a sprinkling of the red onion, if you like.

Serves many.

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I tried this and it is very good. I blended the potato a bit before I added the chickpeas and other ingredients. We served it with toasted pita and liked it very much.

Anonymous said...

A great idea! I am going to go and make some right now.

Anonymous said...

Sounds eally delightful with spinach-- and healthy as well.
Can't wait to try your recipe.

Anonymous said...

This is a great way to tweek the regular hummus. It can be spred on any thing that you would normally eat with hummus. Beautiful and good!
:)

Anonymous said...

I love this posting! I never know what you are going to write about.

Anonymous said...

The Barrett cookbook is pretty darn nice. I am going to buy one and plan to use it often in my own kitchen. Our family loves anything to do with beans. Thanks for the good ideas.

Anonymous said...

Yay for scribbles variety.
Now it is all about beans, yes?

Anonymous said...

This is a cool version of hummus. Think I will try making it this coming Sunday for a small get together at our apartment.

Anonymous said...

I really can't read the text.
It writting with too small letters.
I'm using firefox.