Hummus is a popular and healthy snack. Usually, it is made with some combination of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. But this version is slightly different.
I’m going to show you how to step up the flavor of your hummus with chimichurri hummus bean dip.
Some time ago I realized that every time I eat tahini my mouth itches. It was hard for me to admit that I must be allergic to tahini when I have never had any obvious food allergies but, I guess it’s true. Now, I have to learn how to live life without sesame seeds or tahini. This is sad to me because it seems like tahini is in all the cool foodie items that I like. For example, tahini chocolate chip cookies. And also…. well I guess that’s really it. No point in searching for amazing foods with sesame tahini anymore.
Moving on. In an effort to find a tahini substitute that would also have some cool health benefits I choose walnuts to be my workhorse. By substituting soaked and dried walnuts for the tahini, I’m adding in some omega 3 fats. But really, any high-fat nut will work, and if you don’t have time to soak and dry your walnuts, it will still taste great.
I start by processing the walnuts and chickpeas first and then adding in the Chimichurri sauce in place of the lemon, olive oil, and garlic. As you probably know, Chimichurri contains copious amounts of garlic, parsley leaves, olive oil, and red wine vinegar so that covers the acid, oil, and garlic normally present in hummus, then bumps it up with some colorful parsley. The result is a creamy explosion of flavors that will keep you interested in this healthy dip.
Additionally, parsley by itself is too strong of a flavor for me, which is really saying something because I like dark beers and black coffee, but I digress. Parsley has some amazing health benefits and if you can add it into your diet and enjoy it, more power and health to you!
Word to the wise, when adding parsley, stay away from the stems. They just kind of ruin the flavor for some reason. The leaves are where it’s at. I hope you enjoy this twist on regular hummus.
Chimichurri Hummus
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups garbanzo beans, drain but reserve liquid to thin as needed.
- 1/2 cup walnuts soaked and dried if time permits
- 6 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- 1 tsp salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Blend chickpeas, walnuts, garlic, and red wine vinegar in food processor
- Add bean water (aqua faba) and salt to taste and texture
- Add parsley leaves and quickly pulse so some leaves retain texture in the dip
