How appropo, a green hummus posted, today of all days. And while I had not planned on posting something so strikingly green for St. Patty’s Day, the act of posting something green was calculated and completely deliberate. After madeleines and cake, let’s pause to cleanse our paletes, shall we?

 I first tried edamame hummus at Rice, my favorite lunch spot in Dumbo. Their version is less homogenous, with visible chunks of edamame and little pools of creamy tahini, and I think that their version might also have chickpeas in it. They serve it in tiny dishes with delightful puffed rice crackers.

My version is creamy, with less tahini and a more intense lemon flavor. By the way, this is probably obvious to everyone but me, but head to the peanut butter isle when you are looking for tahini. The Union Square Whole Foods had about 8 varieties, but I’ve always been happy with Joyva brand, which has a nice, toasted flavor and a thicker consistency.

One of the lemons I used was a Meyer lemon, which was accidental but turned out to be a good choice, providing lemony flavor without making the hummus overly tart. 

I’d be remiss if I did not mention that I prepared this as an appetizer for a small dinner party I threw last Saturday, for people who are some of EastVillageKitchen.com’s biggest fans. We had a lot of fun, but that’s all I’m going to say for now, because the party produced fodder for several posts and would it be any fun if I discussed it in detail all in this first one?

Edamame Hummus

1 bag frozen, shelled edamame (approximately 3 cups)

3 tablespoons tahini

1 Meyer lemon 

1 lemon (or 2 if mayer lemons are not in season)

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more more for boiling

1/2 cup water (or more, at your discretion)

1/4 cup olive oil

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large, covered pot. Add frozen edamame and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes.

Place edamame, tahini, water, and olive oil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Quarter the lemons and squeeze them through a strainer into the food processor. Blend the ingredients in the food processor for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides, and check consistency. If you prefer a thinner hummus, add additional water and add salt to taste. Blend for another 2 minutes until hummus is very smooth and you are not able to see any chunks.

Serve immediately or refrigerate in a covered container for up to two days before serving.

The feedback from blog readers was so positive for for my Roasted Tomato Garlic Hummus, that I decided it couldn’t hurt to share this yummy variation that looks quite similar but bursts with the flavor of fresh roasted red peppers. I whipped it up last night when we were feeling too lazy to get out of the house and it was delightful with a little homemade herb focaccia. 

I love making hummus because it can be prepared and enjoyed almost instantly. 

Just 20 minutes in the oven on 350 degrees and presto – the garlic is almost melting in its skin and the peppers are perfectly softened.

If you’re not into spontaneous hummus making and you plan ahead you can soak your chickpeas and save yourself some money. Since this was a last-minute decision, I used a 12 oz can. Put you roasted garlic cloves, roasted red peppers, chickpeas, the juice of one lemon (no zest this time – it overpowers the pepper flavor), and salt and pepper to taste into the food processor. Start with one tablespoon of olive oil in there as well, adding more if you would like a more creamy hummus. Allow the food processor to do its thing until you are satisfied with the texture. Plate and serve (shown here garnished with a cilantro oil that Brian made) or put in the fridge for later. 

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 fresh red pepper

3 cloves of garlic

olive oil

1 lemon

salt and fresh ground black pepper

Remove the seeds from a red pepper and slice it into fourths. Place on a pan with three cloves of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in a 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until the peppers and garlic are soft.

Place roasted peppers into the food processor and squeeze the garlic out of its skins on top of the peppers. Add 12 oz. drained chickpeas, the juice of 1 lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and begin to run the food processor. If you feel that the mixture is too dry, ad more oil as needed. Blend until you are happy with the level of smoothness.

Plate and serve warm, or cover and place in the fridge to serve chilled at a later point in time.

You just can’t beat a satisfying hummus! With the ones that you really love it starts innocently enough – you’re picking at the bowl at a party, absent-mindedly scooping dollops with pita wedges while trying to balance your wine glass and hold a conversation all at the same time. Then your mind starts to wander… “wow, this is some creamy hummus…I love it when there’s lemon… and so light! Mmmmm I think I’ll have just a little more… crap, I finished the bowl. I hope no one noticed! I wonder if there’s more in the kitchen…”

Hummus is great because even non-cooks can easily make it themselves – it requires almost no skill at all. There is a lot of personal preference with hummus, which probably explains the dizzying array of flavor choices at the market. What makes absolutely no sense is the price that it fetches at stores. The laziest version of homemade hummus, which is the kind that involves chickpeas from a can (as opposed to soaking dry ones), costs only a couple bucks and is custom made to taste. 

I love roasted vegetables in my hummus, so my recipe starts with a pint of grape tomatoes and a couple cloves of garlic. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Smash 3-4 large garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and remove the skins. 

Arrange the garlic and tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Use your hands to ensure that the pieces are all covered completely with oil. Roast them for 12 minutes, or until the tomato skins are beginning to split.

Drain and rinse 1 can or two cups of soaked chickpeas.

Zest a lemon until you have a teaspoon of lemon zest. Be warned that this recipe is designed to appeal to those who enjoy a lot of lemon flavor in hummus. If you don’t, omit the zest completely and just add the lemon juice later in the recipe.

Take the roasted tomatoes and garlic out of the oven. With a pair of tongs, crush the tomatoes so all of their skins are broken. Flip everything over and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

Put the chickpeas, roasted tomatoes and garlic, and lemon zest (optional) in the food processor. Squeeze the juice of one lemon through a strainer (or slotted spoon if your strainer has gone missing – as I have in photo) into the food processor. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and a jigger or two of olive oil.

Turn on the food processor and let it do its thing. If you like chunkier hummus, stop after a minute. If you like super creamy hummus (as I do), don’t be afraid to leave it in there for a long time. If it’s not pureeing as you would like it to, add more olive oil.

That’s pretty much it. Taste it to see if there is enough salt and if it is the right consistency and adjust accordingly.  We ended up eating this as a meal with a fresh loaf of bread that Brian made, a bottle of wine, and some cheeses we had lying around, but shhhhh, don’t tell our parents. It’s the kind of thing that they don’t want to know about their grown children. Only balanced meals are consumed in this household.

I mean, aren’t the four food groups wine, cheese, hummus, and bread? Oh, and chocolate salted caramels?

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Hummus

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

3-4 cloves garlic

2 cups chickpeas

1 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon lemon zest

olive oil

salt and ground black pepper