I really didn’t want to call this recipe hummus.
It’s because we all know vegans and hummus are synonymous with mullets and Chuck Norris, white people and shorts, Brangelina and babies, black poodles and the name Molly or butterfly tattoos and the 90’s.
For better or for worse, they go together. You can’t think of one without thinking of the other.
While I do love hummus, this absurdity has got to end! Vegan food is so much more than mashed up beans. Take me for example. I could probably go one full week without the stuff. Just sayin’.
So, I am not going to call this hummus.
(but it kinda is)
Roasted Garlic and Mint White Bean Hummus Puree
Okay, It’s hummus. Damn it. (but not if you heat it up, mix it with pasta and top it with walnut parm or use it as pizza sauce. Then it would be far more than hummus)
What You Need:
- 2 1/2 cups white beans (use canned or learn how to make your own below)
- 1 whole roasted garlic bulb (see below)
- 1/4 cup mint
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 10 turns black pepper
Roast Your Garlic, baby
- Pre-heat oven to 400°.
- Take one whole bulb of garlic and cut off 1/2 inch from the top.
- Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and wrap the bulb loosely in a piece of tinfoil.
- Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes. The garlic should be just browned (and the smell should literally make your mouth water).
- Allow to cool until you can easily touch it with your fingers and then pop out each clove.
Make the Hummus Puree
-
Place all of the ingredients into your blender or food processor and process until creamy and smooth.
Instructions for making your own beans
There is a sucky long way to cook beans and there is an easy much quicker way to cook them.
Both work best when you soak the beans for 8 -12 hours.
The suckier longer way to cook them is to cook them in a regular pot.
The easier quicker way is to cook them is in a pressure cooker.
I was scared of pressure cookers for a long time because I knew for sure that it would explode in my face the first time I used it (sort of like the car tire would explode in my face when I filled it up with air. Same scenario. Both are bad).
I decided that my fear of the pressure cooker was wasting a lot of my time (and way too many batches of burnt beans) so I decided to get over it.
It was the best thing I did since I quit smoking (hello pearly whites and smaller pores!). Seriously, I use my pressure cooker all of the time.
There is nothing to be afraid of!
Okay. Here’s the rub on how to make your own beans - pressure cooker style:
You Need:
- 1 1/2 cups of Cannellini beans soaked overnight in enough water to cover them by two inches.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
What you do:
- Drain and rinse the beans and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker and add the beans.
- Stir and cook for one minute.
- Add 5 cups of water and lock the lid of the cooker into place and place the valve on top.
- Bring the beans to pressure (this will take about 15 minutes depending on your elevation).
- Once your cooker starts hissing you will know they have reached pressure.
- Start the timing now and allow to cook for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes turn off the heat and cool. You can let it cool on its own until the pressure has one down by itself or you can gently bring the pot over to the sink and run cold water over the top of it until the pressure comes down (this is the faster way if you are in a hurry).
Rock n’ Roll (that’s my new word. I got it from my friend Roni.)
Note* How did my spellcheck know that Brangelina is a word?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Actually, it’s really not hummus and I’ll explain exactly why: hummus is the Hebrew word for chickpea and in the middle east hummus is ALWAYS made with chickpeas, tahin (sesame paste), garlic, lemon and olive oil. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less. So there you have it, if there are no chickpeas involved, it can’t be hummus. ;) It’s just a bean (or whatever is being used) spread..