Dip, Dip Hooray! Herby Pea Hummus

With a long weekend coming up – a Bank Holiday in the UK and Memorial Day across the pond, it’s quite likely that you may be looking at a bit of ‘relaxed food’ on the menu. Some will be lucky enough to consider sharing food and others (myself included) just something that a couple of us can share and still mark the occasion.

We enjoy dips and, dip, dip hooray, here’s one that has a new fresh feel to it. Ignore the shop-bought, ready-prepared options out there and consider instead this Herby Pea Hummus, made with green peas and chick peas, and flavoured with garlic, lemon and fresh mint – so much better I promise!

In the later summer months I make this with fresh peas but for now am using frozen (you choose what you have available) and I am also using peanut butter rather than tahini paste – but again both can be interchanged and work well. Fresh mint however is a bit of a must – dried sadly just doesn’t cut it.

Serve with pitta and/or crudités, as you prefer.

HERBY PEA HUMMUS

Ingredients

METRIC/US

250 g/8 oz /scant 2 cups fresh or frozen peas

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

400 g/14 oz can chick peas, drained but 2 tbsp juice reserved) and rinsed

2 tbsp peanut butter or tahini paste

handful of fresh mint leaves, plus extra to garnish

2 tbsp snipped fresh chives

salt and freshly ground black pepper

griddled pitta and crudités, to serve

Method

Cook the peas in boiling salted water until just tender, about 2-5 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water, then drain again.
Place all but a handful of the peas in a food processor or blender with the garlic, oil, lemon zest and juice, chick peas, reserved canned juice, peanut butter or tahini, mint and chives. Whizz until smooth. Fold through the remaining peas and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into a serving bowl.
Drizzle with a little extra oil if liked and garnish with a few extra leaves of mint.
Serve with griddled pitta bread and/or vegetable crudités as you prefer.