The Name Sounds Silly, but the Food is Good!

Right before Christmas, I heard Nigella Lawson on NPR, talking about some of her favorite quick dishes for the holidays.  In her NPR piece, she mentioned her latest favorite, Peanut Butter Hummus--a recipe that also appears in her newest book, Nigella Kitchen.

I am not the biggest fan of tahini--the sesame paste that usually gives hummus it's flavor--so using peanut butter in place of tahini (essentially sesame butter) sounded perfect.  After hearing the interview, I pulled the recipe off the internet and whipped this up for appetizers for my Christmas dinner.

Peanut Butter Hummus was a hit!  It had a nice texture, smooth flavor, and was a snap to make.  My mom had some a few days later on a sandwich, and she said it was delicious.

The recipe, below, makes a boat-load of hummus.  If you don't want tons of the stuff, you may want to half the recipe.


PEANUT BUTTER HUMMUS
2 x 15-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 garlic clove, peeled
3-5 tablespoons regular olive oil
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons lemon juice, or more as needed
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoons table salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 - 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons peanuts, finely chopped, to serve (optional)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika, to serve (optional)
breadsticks, mini pitas, crackers, tortilla chips, to serve (optional)

• Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Put the garlic clove, chickpeas, 3 tablespoons oil, peanut butter, lemon juice, salt, and cumin into a food processor and blitz to a knobbly puree.
• Add 1/4 cup of the Greek yogurt and process again; if the hummus is still very thick, add another 1–2 tablespoons yogurt and the same of oil. (This will often depend on the chickpeas, as different sorts make the hummus thicker or not.)
• Taste for seasoning, adding more lemon juice and salt if you feel it needs it.
• On serving, mix the chopped peanuts with the paprika and sprinkle on top if you wish, and put an array of bits and pieces to eat with or dip in, as you see fit.

Makes enough for a party of 10
Note: The hummus can be made 1–2 days ahead. Transfer to non-metallic container, cover, and refrigerate until needed. Should be consumed within 2 days of making