lemony basil pesto white bean hummus
If nothing else, right now we require comfort. I personally have shifted daily, hourly, between restful and restless. I haven’t slept much or well most nights, some uncanny wakeful period pops my eyes open when I hit the bed and I can’t seem to doze straight through the night without at least two-three starts into the real world. Perhaps the haunt of night more prevalently nips at my subconscious. I’ve always felt safer under sunlight. Less creeping about and more straight, noisy, upright striding.
In daytime, I’ve scooted into the kitchen’s warm mittened hands to redouble our stock of snacks and treats I don’t want to make special trips to buy. In this era, no trip is special, really. It’s either necessity or foolish. So, I, as any respectable citizen will, pass most hours in my apartment aside from curbside pickups or a bout on the trail in my running shoes. So why not conjure some cozy?
Thankfully, we are fine at present. Well-stocked, healthy (aside from some mysterious chest and throat issues that come and go), amusing ourselves with nightly Harry Potter viewings. The other day, though, I scraped our last container of hummus clean. Tragic. How wrong of me. I eat hummus almost daily with some vegetable-heavy lunch platter or another, and to run out is about as sinful as gathering. I briefly considered ordering a batch from a local Lebanese standby, which I love dearly, but then I figured it’d be more of an accomplishment to whip some up myself.
This took about five minutes, start to finish. Maybe 10 if I’m being conservative. The food processor does most of the work, and your main task is spooning as much as possible from the walls of the machine so to not waste any precious cargo. This hummus is not fancy, is free of tahini – though, if you have it, feel free to give it a whirl and let me know how it changes the taste! – and the only trip required is to the spice cabinet. Easy, right? No human contact required. Hummus provides a wonderful protein punch. Ideal snack with pretzels, pita, or sliced cucumbers and peppers, or smeared atop a bun with a good veggie burger and some crisp butter lettuce. Add some tzaziki and your tastebuds might just go throw a socially distant soiree.
Ingredients
- 1 can white beans (cannellini or great northern)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, juice of (about 2 Tbsp)
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan (omit for vegan)
- generous pinch kosher salt
- basil pesto & olive oil, to garnish
Instructions
- Drain and rinse white beans thoroughly. Add beans and all other ingredients except the pesto and additional olive oil to a food processor. Whip until creamy and well-blended. Use a rubber spatula to scoop hummus into an airtight storage container. Top with a heap of basil pesto, olive oil, and additional basil as desired. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to set (and because it tastes better cold!) Keeps 3-5 days chilled.
