California Hummus

California Hummus

April 22, 2018

Servings: 8

Prep: 10 min

Total: 10 min

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An earthy take on your traditional hummus, with the fresh vibrant flavors of cilantro, jalapeño & creamy avocado.

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can cooked garbanzo beans
• 1/3 cup cilantro (stems included)
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 an avocado
• 2 TBSP tahini
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp salt or more to taste
• Cayenne for sprinkling

Directions

• Step 1 Add the garbanzo beans, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, garlic, avocado and tahini to a food processor and process until the ingredients are fully combined and the mixture just starts to pull away from the sides of the processor.
• Step 2 Slowly stream in the olive oil and process until smooth. Add the cumin, garlic salt and salt and pulse a few more times to fully combine. Add extra seasonings to taste if necessary.
• Step 3 Remove from the food processor to a bowl, drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with cayenne before serving.

This recipe is one I have been dying to replicate ever since we left the city (3+ years ago now!). Pita Grill, our go-to Mediterranean take out joint, sold this incredible hummus they called “California Hummus” and I always craved it like no other. I’m guessing Pita Grill is still out there, but since I don’t get into the city much at all these days, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to treat myself to this hummus. For some reason, I have never really attempted to make it myself until now (maybe since my cravings in general are at all an time high?). So I really had to put my memory to the test to see how close I could get!

I googled the recipe first to see if by any chance anyone else had “cracked the code” to making the hummus already. Surprisingly, I guess I’m the only food blogger out there who is this obsessed – there was nothing to be found on the world wide web. This meant it would be ever trickier than I thought to recreate the hummus I know and love, but I was determined.

I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that had made the California Hummus so addicting, but I recall it being a creamy blend of jalapeño, cilantro, garlic etc. For some reason, I also felt compelled to add half an avocado to my recipe (just a hunch!), which I think was right call.

The color’s looking pretty close! ^^

Getting the combination of flavors justttt right was no easy feat, but I think I came close. And at the end of the day, while the recipe may not be identical to Pita Grill’s version, it’s a pretty close cousin AND it satisfied my craving, so a win-win across the board.