Alpana Singh

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Avocado Hummus

I took a very informal poll on my Instagram recently and asked people to name their favorite dip. Something if it’s served at a party, it becomes a borderline embarrassing situation for you. My achilles heel is spinach dip, especially if it’s in a bread bowl — game over. The top two answers, however, were hummus and guacamole. That got me thinking. What if you were to combine them to get the best of both worlds? I sourced a recipe for Avocado Hummus and fiddled around with it and the result was absolutely delicious. You start with a basic hummus recipe but pull back slightly on the tahini in favor of the avocado. I also added lime juice instead of lemon and bumped up the green color with cilantro and added some heat with jalapeno. You can’t tell where the hummus starts and the guacamole begins — it’s the perfect marriage. Serve it with pita or tortilla chips, veggies or the highly addictive elote corn chips from Trader Joe’s. You can also use this as a spread for sandwiches and wraps.

Avocado Hummus

  • 1 large ripe avocado

  • 1 15½-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

  • 1/3 cup tahini, well mixed

  • juice of two limes

  • 1 garlic clove, smashed with flat side of knife on cutting board

  • 3/4 teaspoon (or more) kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon diced jalapeno (or more if you like it spicy)

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves with tender stems

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Directions:

  1. Squeeze both limes into a small bowl (you should get about 1/4 cup of juice). Marinate smashed garlic in the juice for 10 minutes. This mellows out the garlic flavor. If you like a more garlicky flavor, keep it otherwise if garlic is not your thing - toss it out.

  2. Process tahini and lime juice in a food processor until it’s creamy (about 2 minutes). Add a little water if necessary to get the blades moving.

  3. Add chickpeas, avocado, salt, cumin, cilantro and jalapenos, drizzle in the olive oil and process until smooth. I let the motor run for 5 minutes to get it super light and creamy.

  4. Adjust seasoning - add more lime juice, salt or jalapenos to taste.

  5. Garnish with glug of olive oil, cilantro, chickpeas and sliced avocados if desired.