Thursday, November 3, 2011

Kidney Bean Kalmata Olive Hummus

This recipe was sparked by the fact that I had everything to make hummus except garbanzo beans and I was craving it. I had kidney and black beans on hand, and I figured the kidney beans would match the nice purple of the kalamata olives and I went with it.

Ingredients:
1/2 can Kidney Beans (use garbanzo or any other beans if you wish)
1 TBSP Tahini (Ground sesame seed paste)
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives (or more if desired)
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
Garlic (to taste), fresh is best, powder will also work

If you use all of the juice from the can of kidney beans, you come up with a rather runny, however smooth hummus. I think Garbanzos are a little bit drier and so you can use all the juice. If you want to play with the texture a little bit, drain and reserve the liquid and add as much or as little as you need. Another option is to use juice from the olives for more flavor. The reason I used 1/2 a can of beans is I wanted to try some different flavors of hummus to keep my palate guessing :)

Dump all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add Garlic to taste and blend again. Dip with tortilla chips, pitas, or fresh veggies and enjoy!

Makes: approximately 1 1/2 cups of dip.