Basil & Beet Greens Pesto Hummus

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If you’re a fan of both pesto and hummus, you’re in for a real treat! This new hummus makes a delicious and nutritious dip for veggies and chips, spread for sandwiches and wraps, and is perfect to dollop on top yummy, summertime buddha bowls.

Every Friday, my husband and I do an afternoon happy hour once he’s off work. Before the pandemic, it would be after I got back from driving home from Pasadena for the weekend. Usually, we’d go out to our favorite martini spot by the beach, order top shelf, and indulge in some charred Brussels sprouts. In these quarantine days, Michael’s been making the martinis at home, and we usually sit out in the front yard waiting for a neighbor to walk by with their dog so we can say, “Hi.”

Sometimes I’ll throw together a snack for us to have with our martinis. It all depends on how busy I am, how hungry we are, and how stocked the fridge is that day. A couple of Fridays ago, I opened the fridge seeing what our options were, and everything just came together.

I had an open can of Great Northern Beans which needed to be used. I’ve been mostly cooking dried beans lately, especially since my grocery store trips have to be limited so I’m planning out the full week’s meals ahead of time. This helps me prepare as I know to soak beans the day prior. What happened was, I was making some Vegan Chorizo Cheez Rolls and needed the aquafaba, so I opened a can of beans which I had no intention of using. Well, I intended on using them once they were opened, I just hadn’t a clue what I’d be using them for.

Any-who… I had these beans which needed to be used, snack, white beans… of course, I thought of hummus. I love using white beans like Great Northern or cannellini for hummus because of their mild flavor and creamy texture. Now, if you did not know (though I may have mentioned this before), hummus actually means, “Chickpeas,” in Arabic. So anytime we make, “hummus,” with any bean other than chickpeas, it’s actually not hummus, but a bean purée. Regardless, I, and so many others, still call it hummus because honestly it just sounds better, and I figure everyone knows what I’m talking about.

OK, I had the beans, I’m thinking I’ll make some sort of “hummus,” but what flavors will I add? I rummaged through my produce drawers and pulled out some wilted basil that needed to be used, and some beet greens I’d saved. Pesto — yum! I had all the ingredients I needed to make a delicious pesto and a delicious, white bean hummus, I mean… bean purée. So, I combined the two and voíla! It turned out to be possibly my favorite hummus I’ve made yet.

My husband and I ate all the veggies you see around the bowl in the picture, and I was still to make a big dinner for the night! Later in the evening, I posted the picture in a Facebook group and it got a lot of hype. The only problem was, I didn’t write down the amounts of anything, but just kind of threw it all together.

After seeing the attention my picture got, and after eating it all and really enjoying the recipe, I decided to make it again last week so I could jot down the proper amounts of everything. That way, I’d be able to share it with all of you! This second time making the hummus, I wanted to use if for a dinner, so check out what I did… I made some Mediterranean-ish bowls, topped with the hummus, and they were so bomb!

Turns out, I have another can of opened white beans in my fridge (I made more rolls a couple of days ago, only for a new recipe, coming to you soon!). Depending on what I get in my produce delivery tomorrow, these bowls may be back on the dinner menu again here real soon. If not the bowls, definitely some hummus to snack on!

If you try this hummus, let me know. What did you use it for? Did you dip it, spread it, or use it in dollops? Leave a comment below, or take a pic and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.