almond hummus with ginger & scallions

Let's talk favorite ingredients.  I know you have a few.  I have a lot. 

A favorite ingredient is something that when you see it listed in a recipe you absolutely have to make the recipe ... right away. It is something that you crave.  Something you always have handy. Something you cannot live without. 

In case you're wondering, here are a few of mine:

garlic
onion
red potatoes
soba noodles
broccoli
almond butter
brussels sprouts
garlic
almonds
ginger
scallions
garlic

Yeah, I know I said garlic three times.  You already know it's my fav.

The other day I was browsing through a book that I received from class when I came across a recipe for almond hummus (mmmm) with ginger (yum), scallions (yum), and garlic (wow). 

Well ... you know what happened next ....

almond hummus with ginger & scallions  
adapted from the book: The Balanced Plate by, Reneé Loux

Traditional hummus uses chickpeas as a base, whereas this recipe uses almonds which gives it a slight nutty flavor. Feel free to use chickpeas instead in you prefer. Also, you can add other ingredients such as parsley, chives, tarragon if you wish. If you've never used it before, umeboshi plum vinegar can be found in the Asian section of the grocery store. I highly recommend using this specific vinegar for this recipe but if you do not have it handy you can substitute white wine vinegar.   

Ingredients

1 cup of almonds, soaked for 3-6 hours
1/4 cup of tahini 
1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of mirin (or a sweet sake)
2 tablespoons of umeboshi plum vinegar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
4 scallions, trimmed and cleaned, white parts chopped roughly and green party chopped finely
salt & pepper 

Directions

• Place the almonds, tahini, ginger, garlic, umeboshi plum vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, mirin, the white parts of the scallion, and a good pinch of salt and pepper into a high powered blender or food processor. 
• Blend on high until it become the mixture becomes smooth. Add more olive oil or water to ease the blending if necessary, being careful not to use too much olive oil because it will alter the taste. You will probably have to stop and scrape down the edges in order to get it all combined and to a smooth texture. 
• Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
• Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl and fold in the green parts of the scallion. 
• Serve at room temperature with crackers, or a plate of vegetables. Note: it goes beautifully with fresh carrots. 

Enjoy.