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Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free/Vegan
Skill Level: Beginner
Yield: About 1 1/2 cups hummus
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes (to roast garlic scapes)
Equipment Needed:
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas (sometimes called garbanzo beans)
2 cups garlic scapes, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons kosher salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (or more to taste)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup tahini (optional)
Chopped olives/extra olive oil drizzle for topping, if desired
Fresh vegetables, pita chips, naan bread for dipping
Procedure:
Roast the garlic scapes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread garlic scapes out on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands or a tongs to toss and coat the scapes in oil. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through the cooking time.
Empty your can of chickpeas into a colander set in your sink and rinse thoroughly.
Add all ingredients to your food processor except the olive oil, in the order they are listed above. Note: if you are opting to add tahini, which I always do if I have it on hand, add the tahini and lemon juice to the food processor first and process for about a minute before adding the rest of the ingredients. The lemon juice and tahini will form a paste that will help the texture of your hummus to become nice and creamy.
Process all ingredients except olive oil, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary, until everything is well combined.
Keep your food processor running and slowly stream oil in through the food tube.
Process until your hummus is your desired consistency, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary.
Taste, and adjust seasonings according to your preferences.
Serve hummus garnished with chopped olives and a drizzle of olive oil on top, if desired.
Tips:
Garlic scapes are a very seasonal ingredient (at least in MN); they are only available at farmer's markets for a short time where I live. They are gorgeous, and have a slightly milder flavor than garlic. If you can't get your hands on some scapes, substitute 1-2 cloves of minced garlic (or more or less, to taste) in this recipe.
As mentioned above, I think tahini helps the texture of hummus to be nice and creamy, and it adds great flavor. However if you're like me and don't always have it on hand, you can make this hummus without it and it will still taste great.
I always use a microplane zester to grate my lemon zest, but if you didn't have one you could use the smallest holes of a grater.
If you don't have a food processor, you could use a blender to make your hummus.
If you're not a huge fan of olives (how dare you, but we can still be friends), you could definitely leave off the garnish all together or substitute a sprinkle of ground paprika, a sprinkle of chopped green onion or chives, or reserve a couple of roasted garlic scape pieces and chop those up to use as a topping.
Play with flavors when making your hummus! Try adding different spices that you like, use a different bean such as black beans or cannellini beans, add avocado or roasted red peppers...the possibilities are endless to really make this your own.
The Story:
Well obviously, my story for this recipe features these beauties:
GARLIC SCAPES. These are the stem and flower bud that grow from a hardneck garlic plant; first they grow straight out of the garlic bulb, then they coil. Scapes are only harvested in late spring/early summer, while the garlic bulbs are harvested later in the summer. I have seen these at farmer's markets and the little farm stand near my house many times, but to be honest since I didn't know much about them, they intimidated me a little bit. The little farm stand just has a cash box that you pay when you purchase your goods, and the last time I went they didn't have the right change for for the carrots, radishes and cauliflower I wanted to buy. So, I looked around to see if I could grab one more thing so I could make the correct change.
GARLIC SCAPES. I took the plunge, purchased them, and then brought them home to research. I cut a little slice off of one and tasted; sharp and spicy, just like garlic but maybe a touch milder. I looked to the Internet to make sure I could eat the whole thing, and the Internet told me I could so like any good Millennial (or Xennial, I don't know where you stand), I decided it must be true.
The section an inch or two past the flower looked a bit dry on every scape, so I cut these portions off and discarded, but other than that I used all of the scapes. I chopped one up and threw it in a veggie dip I was making that night and stored the rest in the fridge to noodle over. While I pondered, I researched a little and learned that like garlic, scapes contain some nutrients like antioxidants, Vitamin C and selenium, which are all associated with heart health.
The next day I landed on...hummus! I love a good, garlicky hummus so I figured this would be the perfect spot for my scapes. I went with a somewhat southwest flavor profile by adding the cumin and coriander, which I loved.
This hummus was super flavorful; roasting the garlic scapes mellowed the garlic flavor a touch and gave it a bit more depth. I tasted my hummus with a veggie assortment of cherry tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers, all of which were great accompaniments. I had some little garlic naan breads on hand as well, and these were also delicious with a swipe of hummus on top. Pita chips are always a classic dipper, and I love using hummus as a spread on wraps and sandwiches too!
Happy Tasting!
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