Green goddess hummus bowl salad

About a year ago, as I was browsing through Limetree Cafe’s merchandise section, a book entitled “Hummus Brothers” caught my eye. As you may remember from an earlier post, hummus is one of those things that I had trialled and errored several times. This gem of a book definitely helped me along the way and gave me a lot of inspiration. It has a ton of mouth-watering hummus bowl recipes, filled with different toppings, from grilled pine nuts to a full-on stew. I made a few but then went on to create this one, which I love.

Now, I’ll be straight with you: these bowls are not a light affair. I could eat an entire one, but probably wouldn’t be hungry for my next meal if I did. So unless you are a growing teenager, some kind of athlete or have a big appetite, I suggest you serve this as an appetizer with family and friends.

It looks absolutely lovely, is fresh, bursting with flavors of the Medditeranean and Middle East…and gets polished off every time.

Serves 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, drained – reserve the chickpea water
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tsps ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil + more to drizzle

Salad

• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped finely
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped finely
• 1/4 fresh za’atar, chopped finely (optional)
• 8 cherry tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 2 small cucumbers, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup feta, crumbled
• 6 black olives, pitted and quartered
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar of your choice (cider, grape, etc)

Instructions

1. In a large blender, place chickpeas, tahini, avocado, herbs, cumin, salt, lemon and lemon juice and blend at high speed
2. Add 1 tbsp of reserved chickpea at a time, until your hummus reaches the right consistency
3. Pour the hummus into a large plate, drizzle with olive oil and set aside
4. Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl, toss lightly
5. Make a small well in the middle of the hummus and spoon the salad on top of the hummus
6. Serve immediately or chill for up to 4 hours, covered.