Spinach Artichoke Hummus
The beauty of making your own hummus is choosing the strength of flavor you’re trying to impart in the hummus. Commercial companies have to make something that pleases most people’s palates; but when you make hummus at home, you get to cater to your own taste buds. That was the happy case with this recipe for me. I’m in love with the combination of spinach and artichokes in all kinds of things (lasagna, dip, pasta, etc.) but I always felt that the spinach artichoke hummus that I’d bought in the past was a bit bland. So, I ended up using the leftover water in the artichoke can instead of the chickpea water to intensify the artichoke flavor… and I loved it!
Hummus is an amazing dip–it’s already packed with its own distinct flavor, but still functions as a blank canvas for all kinds of flavor combinations. Like I said earlier, you’ll probably see a lot of different types of hummus flavors pop up on here from time to time. Forgive me in advance, okay?
Spinach Artichoke Hummus
Description
This hummus tastes great with pitas, chips, raw veggies, and more.
Ingredients
Instructions
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If you’re using frozen spinach, skip the next 3 steps and defrost the spinach–either via microwave or boiling via stovetop. Make sure to wring the water out of the spinach afterward–don’t worry about getting every last drop though.
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Heat a sauté pan to medium. Once the pan is heated, pour 1 Tbsp. olive oil into the pan.
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Once the oil is heated, add the spinach and stir. The spinach will wilt pretty quickly, so keep stirring! Add salt and pepper to taste while the spinach is wilting.
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When the spinach is completely cooked, turn off the stove and remove the pan from the heat.
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While the spinach is cooling, toss the garlic into the food processor with the blades on (through the tube at the top).
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Add the garbanzo beans/chickpeas into the processor.
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Add the tahini paste, lemon juice and salt. Turn off the processor for now and scrape the sides of the processor bowl down to ensure everything will get mixed evenly. Be careful–the blades are VERY sharp!
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When the spinach has cooled down to room temperature, turn the processor on and add the spinach to the mix.
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Allow the spinach to mix thoroughly into the hummus, then add the artichoke hearts and mix again.
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Add 1 Tbsp. of the reserved liquid. At this point, you can decide on your preferred consistency–add more liquid if you want your hummus to be smoother and thinner. (I only used 1 Tbsp.)
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Turn off the processor and scrape the hummus into an airtight container. The hummus will be good in the fridge for five days. If you want to save it for later, feel free to freeze it–it freezes quite well!
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Right before serving, drizzle a small amount of olive oil and crack pepper on the top.
Note
- I prefer sautéing the spinach because it adds more flavor to the dip, but frozen works well in a pinch.
- If you don't have a food processor, a blender works as well—you'll just have to scrape at the bottom a little more to make sure everything is incorporated.
