Andrew Olson
If you think about it, the crossover between pesto and hummus is quite significant… They’re both simple purees made in a food processor, both ingredient lists call for lemon juice and garlic, they both include a creamy element (tahini or pine nuts), and they’re both spreads that go well on flatbreads. Why not take everything great about hummus, add the missing pieces of a pesto, and create one epic super-spread?
Inspired by the overabundance of basil in my garden, that’s what we’re doing today. We’ll first make a classic hummus, then throw in the remaining pesto ingredients (basil and pine nuts), and whip everything together to create an epicly delicious spread in less than 5 minutes. Plus, in typical One Ingredient fashion, the ingredient list is very simple and we’re omitting 100% of the oil that you would typically find in both spreads (you won’t even notice). Let’s do it…
Makes about 4 cups of hummus
Ingredients:
- 2 (15 oz) cans of chickpeas
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3 large garlic cloves
- Juice of 1-2 lemons
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Step One
First, drain the cans of chickpeas and use a kitchen strainer to rinse them really well. Then, add them into a food processor with the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and some salt. Pulse this several times and then add in a bit of water (1/4 cup to start) and allow the processor to run for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is completely smooth.
Step Two
Now, add the pesto ingredients (2-3 big handfuls of fresh basil leaves and about 1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts) and pulse for another minute or so, until no large pieces of basil remain and the whole mixture has turned slightly green.
Step Three
At this point, the hummus isn’t finished; use your own judgement to finalize the flavors. Give it a taste and add anything else you think it needs. If you feel it needs more pesto flavor, add more basil. Does it need more brightness? Add salt. More creaminess? Another tablespoon of tahini will do the trick.
When you’re happy with the flavors, transfer to a sealed container and allow to refrigerate for at least an hour or two, where the flavors will meld and intensify, before serving with pita chips, pita bread, sandwiches, pasta, or just a spoon 🙂
Note: if you’re confused about the pesto you see in the middle of my hummus, it’s totally optional. I just happened to have regular pesto on hand as well (this is what happens when you plant too much basil…).
And don’t forget to save the aquafaba from the chickpeas and make something meringue-y!
Yes! I have yet to experiment with this, but I keep hearing great things 🙂
Is there such a thing as “too much basil”?????
You do have a point… 🙂
I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the leftover basil from we have from your curry recipe! This sounds perfect! I’m sure my bun in the oven will love it as well
Would it be terrible if I omit the pine nuts? I never buy them b/c they are so expensive, but, I really want to use this on a pizza tonight.
i use walnuts instead of pine nuts in pesto when i don’t have ’em on hand…
Ah I totally feel your pain. Pine nuts are really expensive. I think walnuts will work here… Pine nuts would be better, but I actually have a pesto recipe that uses walnuts (https://www.oneingredientchef.com/walnut-pesto/) and I’m sure it wouldn’t make a huge difference.
I noticed that the Tahini is not listed in the ingredients yet it is referred to in the instructions. Please include how much too – Thanks!
Tahini is listed as the second ingredient on the list 😉 it’s 1/4 cup.
Sent previous comment about the missing tahini. It was not on the list of ingredients on the printed version – it shows up above in your blog. Sorry for the confusion!
I’ve been making dips and spreads a lot lately, I’ll add this to my list. Looks so delicious.
This was delicious!!!!!!! Thank you!!!
New here so bear with me. What is aquafaba?
Haha, that’s a perfectly reasonable question. Aquafaba is at least as bizarre as its name… Basically someone really crazy figured out that you can use the brine/liquid from the can of chickpeas and it’s basically egg whites; you can whip it with egg beaters and sugar to create meringue or other egg-like dishes. I tried this once and it’s incredible.
We do the same recipe without the pine nuts but we decorate them wiz cruched caramelized walnuts