Hillbilly Hummus: serious yum from pantry staples
Last night I made Crescent Dragonwagon's Hillbilly Hummus (from her book The Passionate Vegetarian) out of the last of a gigantic pot of black-eyed peas I'd cooked. It's unbelievably delicious for something so simple. As someone who is just making the transition to vegan eating, I would feel confident serving this to omnivores.
Crescent's note: "Ozark ingredients intersect Middle Eastern standards: Chickpeas are replaced by black-eyed peas, tahini by peanut butter. The only person who ever guessed that the mystery ingredient was peanut butter was my dear friend and Ozark native Steve Colvin."
My notes, below, in italics.
2 cups (or one 15-ounce can) cooked, very soft black-eyed peas, drained, at least 1/2 cup liquid reserved (mine were cooked with bay leaf, onion and garlic)
2 tablespoons natural, unhydrogenated peanut butter, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, peeled (I just used one clove of elephant garlic)
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, or 1 leaf fresh sage, minced
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Pinch of cayenne, or to taste (optional)
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
1. In a food processor (blender would probably work too), combine the black-eyed peas, peanut butter, garlic, sage, vinegar, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Pulse until smooth. Begin adding the reserved bean liquid (I didn't need to do this-my hummus was the right texture already, probably because the beans were really soft-with canned beans, you'll probably need to add liquid), and if you like, additional peanut butter (I didn't add any), and keep pulsing until the consistency is smooth and velvety.
2. Refrigerate overnight, or up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before eating.
I ate this with some pita chips, but any wheat bread or cracker will work nicely. The color is sort of grayish, so feel free to dress it up with a topping of chopped tomatoes, roasted red peppers, scallions, or a sprinkling of paprika. It probably would also make a good sandwich or wrap spread with some veggies.
Also, I'm happy to report that the Snobby Joes from Vcon are scrumptious, but you probably all knew that already. I didn't think it would work out as I was making them, but it really did.
Crescent's note: "Ozark ingredients intersect Middle Eastern standards: Chickpeas are replaced by black-eyed peas, tahini by peanut butter. The only person who ever guessed that the mystery ingredient was peanut butter was my dear friend and Ozark native Steve Colvin."
My notes, below, in italics.
2 cups (or one 15-ounce can) cooked, very soft black-eyed peas, drained, at least 1/2 cup liquid reserved (mine were cooked with bay leaf, onion and garlic)
2 tablespoons natural, unhydrogenated peanut butter, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, peeled (I just used one clove of elephant garlic)
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, or 1 leaf fresh sage, minced
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Pinch of cayenne, or to taste (optional)
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
1. In a food processor (blender would probably work too), combine the black-eyed peas, peanut butter, garlic, sage, vinegar, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Pulse until smooth. Begin adding the reserved bean liquid (I didn't need to do this-my hummus was the right texture already, probably because the beans were really soft-with canned beans, you'll probably need to add liquid), and if you like, additional peanut butter (I didn't add any), and keep pulsing until the consistency is smooth and velvety.
2. Refrigerate overnight, or up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before eating.
I ate this with some pita chips, but any wheat bread or cracker will work nicely. The color is sort of grayish, so feel free to dress it up with a topping of chopped tomatoes, roasted red peppers, scallions, or a sprinkling of paprika. It probably would also make a good sandwich or wrap spread with some veggies.
Also, I'm happy to report that the Snobby Joes from Vcon are scrumptious, but you probably all knew that already. I didn't think it would work out as I was making them, but it really did.