52 Weeks of Hummus //Healthy //Herbs //Potager //Recipes
Taco Hummus
February 26
3 min read
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A New Take on Taco Tuesday
There’s a new way to enjoy all the flavors of Taco Tuesday but as your new favorite dip! We loaded this Taco hummus with a pickled salsa, refreshing cool-season herbs, and served it with sweet peppers, tortilla chips, and radishes straight from the garden.
The Modern Potager Kitchen Garden
The joy of the modern potager is getting to expand your culinary skills and make restaurant-quality meals at home. Picking fresh ingredients from the garden and turning them into something that awakens your tastebuds and thrills is really what life is all about.
It should come as no surprise that I have a high appreciation of historical foods as an heirloom gardener. One of the oldest and most historically relevant dishes in human history is hummus.
And I could eat hummus morning, noon, and night. On its own with fresh flatbreads, alongside eggs, or loaded with roasted veggies. It’s this love of hummus that led Matthew to adamantly state, “You cannot survive on hummus and cucumbers alone.” As we shared a plate of one of my favorite variations, roasted red pepper hummus, with fresh radishes, cucumbers, and herbs from the showcase garden, the challenge of his statement kept dancing in my mind.
While it made me laugh in the moment, the notion that I could not survive off such a healthy dietary staple sent me down a path of cultural exploration and adventures in the kitchen for weeks on end. I wanted to understand the lore surrounding hummus and its impact upon the world. And truth be told, I wanted to discover if one could survive on hummus without getting bored.
In short, I’ve accepted the challenge to explore all that hummus has to offer in both traditional and new ways with the help of some fantastic local chefs, food bloggers, and a little creativity. Together, we’ll make a year’s worth of delicious hummus variations—52 recipes that feature the best of seasonal produce and pantry essentials.
We’ll test various cooking techniques, discussing the pros and cons of each method to achieve multiple results. While some chefs swear by using dried chickpeas and removing the skins, today’s high-powered blenders make quick work of tinned beans with their skins intact.
THE HISTORY OF HUMMUS
The earliest known origins of hummus date back to the 13th century, with several cultures claiming the creation of the savory dip. Yotam Ottolenghi, chef and cookbook author, writes about the hummus wars in his book “Jerusalem: A Cookbook.” But Israel isn’t the only country where people argue over the best hummus recipe. Palestinians, Egyptian Arabs, Greeks, and other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries also declare hummus as their dish, each region adding its own nuances.
The essence of the classic hummus recipe are chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and salt. As cooking methods have changed over the centuries, the textural preferences and techniques used to create the creamiest dip have altered the base recipes.
TACOS: A FOOD FOR THE COMMON MASSES
The history of the taco seems to have a bit of a murky origin story, but historians believe they were named after 18th century silver mines in Mexico. “Taco” referred to the small charges used to blow up rock in the mines, and became an affordable food option for the working class in Mexico. During the early 20th century, street vendors brought tacos to the masses in America, modifying the ingredients based on locally available produce and protein options.
Today, tacos have become synonymous with American food culture, often adapted to mix different cuisines and local ingredients into a delicious bit of flavor for members of every class to enjoy any day of the week.
Taco Hummus with Pickled Salsa + Fresh Herbs
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of fresh hummus | 4 servings
Created from years of making hummus + inspiration from Peas and Crayons
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups hydrated garbanzo beans/chickpeas (this is approximately 1 can), drained (reserve water brine), 1/4 cup reserved
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
2 teaspoons taco seasoning blend
1 lime, zested + cut for juice
1 small garlic clove
1/2 jalapeno, diced
Pinch of sea salt + fresh cracked pepper
Glug of really good extra virgin olive oil
Pickled Salsa
1 pound fresh jalapenos, sliced
1 pound red onions, sliced
1 pound red chilies, sliced
2 cups rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
Crispy Chickpeas
1/4 cup chickpeas
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning
Squeeze of lime juice
Flaky sea salt
Taco Seasoning
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon fresh scallions, diced
Avocado, Tajin, crispy chickpeas
1) Slice the jalapenos, chilies, and red onion for the pickled salsa. Bring rice wine vinegar, sugar, and water to a low boil and pour over the salsa mixture. Set aside and let the ingredients marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2) Preheat oven to 425. Mix 1/4 cup garbanzo beans with olive oil and taco seasoning. Roast for 5-8 minutes or until crispy. Set aside to cool.
3) Drain the hydrated garbanzo beans reserving the liquid to help thin the hummus, as needed. Place in a high-powered blender with tahini, juice from the lime, small garlic clove, taco seasoning, half a jalapeno, and freshly cracked pepper + a pinch of sea salt. Blend at high speed until smooth, scraping down the sides if needed. If the mixture is not blending well, add 1-2 teaspoons of reserved bean liquid to help thin. Add one circle of olive oil (about 2 teaspoons) and blend again.
4) Place hummus in a shallow bowl and dress with fresh cilantro + scallions (green onions), taco seasoning or Tajin, avocado, fresh salsa (if you didn’t make the pickled salsa), a squeeze of lime juice, and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Serve the hummus with radishes, tortilla chips, sweet peppers, and warm flat breads.
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