Green Hummus Plate

This is one of those easy appetizers that looks as good as it tastes. Perfect when you have some friends over and want to put out a little bite without upstaging the main event.

I found this recipe for Green Hummus Plate in Jenny Rosenstrach’s Three Things weekly newsletter. I love Jenny back from her days as the Dinner, A Love Story blogger and have cheered on her journey as Bon Appetit writer and cookbook author. In many ways, I feel as though my kids have grown up alongside hers and were fed on many of her favorite meals. She’s about to come out with her fourth (?) cookbook, The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple, so I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about Jenny here and elsewhere.

As far as this recipe goes, you can certainly shortcut it and focus solely on the presentation–no one will be mad–but I chose to make my own green hummus (as the recipe directs) and it took all of 5 minutes. The batch I made was enough for two of the plates pictured below. As far as toppings…this is only the beginning. You can really top it however you’d like although it was pretty perfect, as is. So go ahead, and and make this Green Hummus Plate from The Weekday Vegetarians. Enjoy!

Green Hummus Plate

Green Hummus Plate

Ingredients

Hummus

  • 3 c cooked chickpeas or 2 (15-ounce) cans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 c tahini
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed and roughly chopped
  • 1/4 c fresh lemon juice (from 1 medium lemon)
  • 1/2-1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 c ice-cold water, plus more as needed

For Green Hummus

  • 1/2 c thawed frozen spinach, squeezed of excess liquid (or more — the more spinach, the more green it gets)
  • 1/2 c thawed frozen peas
  • 1 Tbls lemon juice (additional)

Serving

  • feta, crumbled
  • Frozen peas, thawed
  • pickled onions
  • radishes, sliced paper thin
  • fresh dill
  • good quality olive oil
  • flaky sea salt
  • chili flakes
  • warmed pita or pita thins

Instructions

  • Pulse the chickpeas 8 to 10 times in a food processor until rough and pasty.
  • Add the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, kosher salt, and ice water. Process until smooth, adding more ice water as needed until it reaches your desired consistency. I like it smooth so I usually end up adding up to another 1/2 cup water.
  • If you’d like to make green hummus, add spinach and peas, and lemon juice and pulse until it comes together. (It will be a little chunkier if you use the peas.)
  • Spread about 1+ cup on a plate and top with peas, feta, pickled onions, radishes, dill, salt, chili flakes, and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
  • Serve with pita or crackers. Store any leftover hummus in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

Other suggested toppings: Toasted pine nuts, olives, sweet paprika, parsley; chopped tomato, cucumber and red onion salad; quinoa, barley, tabbouleh, herby dressing (made with parsley, capers, dill, lemon juice, olive oil), shredded lettuce or kale, tzatziki.