Hummus with Cilantro Jalapeno Drizzle and Homemade Pita Chips

Last Thursday was a special day: I spent it with my sister Caroline and year-old niece Emily, who were visiting from Seattle. I had plans to publish this blog on Thursday, but as you can imagine, hanging out with a sweet little niece soon put that notion on the back burner. I shared this Hummus with Jalapeno Cilantro Drizzle with Caroline and Emily and we loved snacking on it all day long. (They waited patiently to eat it while I snapped plenty of photos!)

The Jalapeno Cilantro Drizzle (aka “Green Goo”) recipe comes from Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. She uses parsley in her green goo, but I used cilantro and lime juice. The green goo takes hummus to another level, transforming this dip from one-dimensional into complex. With spice from the jalapenos and creaminess from the pureed chickpeas, the hummus and drizzle achieve a perfect balance of flavors.

Canned chickpeas work well in this hummus, but if you have the time, try a more cost-effective route: dried chickpeas. Soak the dried chickpeas overnight, then boil for 1-2 hours until chickpeas are tender.

The third element in this trio—homemade pita chips—are something I discovered by accident. We often use whole-wheat pitas in lieu of roti when we eat Pakistani food, and one time when we were heating a pita we left it on the pan a smidge too long, thereby crisping it. Disappointment gave way to delight when I realized we could make non-greasy pita chips at home. Store-bought pita chips are delicious but much greasier than they need to be. Without any oil or butter, we could bake pita wedges in the oven until crisp, resulting in non-greasy chips perfect for dipping into Hummus with Jalapeno Cilantro Drizzle sauce.

Along with the pita chips, we dipped carrot sticks and cucumber spears into the hummus.  Our snack cravings were satisfied all afternoon, and even little Emily approved of the hummus and kept trying to eat her mama’s snack.

Hummus

For a thicker hummus, add less liquid and blend just until chickpeas are mashed. For a lighter, billowy hummus, add more liquid and blend for 2-3 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian  (p613)

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, drained but still moist, liquid reserved
3 tablespoons lemon juice
About 1 cup bean-cooking liquid, vegetable stock or water
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tahini (I used almond butter)
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper

Add it a food processor or blender along with the chickpeas. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, tahini and as much liquid as you need to make a smooth puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with Jalapeno Cilantro Drizzle sauce.

Jalapeno Cilantro Drizzle Sauce

Recipe heavily adapted from Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:

1 – 2 jalapenos, de-stemmed and diced
3 garlic cloves
? cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup chopped cilantro
scant ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Blend all ingredients until emulsified. A little chunky is ok. (An immersion blender works well for this!)

Pita Chips

6-8 pita whole wheat pita breads

Preheat oven to 375°F. Stack the pitas and slice to make 8 wedges out of each pita. It’s okay if they are different sizes. Spread the pita wedges on a cookie sheet, leaving a little space between each wedge. Bake until crisp, about 10-12 minutes, turning wedges over halfway through. Remove from oven and cool on a cookie sheet. When cooled, dip into hummus with Jalapeno Cilantro drizzle and store leftovers (if there are any!) in an airtight container.