Tag Archives: Spreads/Dips

Chickpea and Avocado Spread (+ Sandwich Option)

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I’m taking intermediate Italian right now.

Constantly Italian is floating through my mind. I walk out of class and say “Grazie” as someone holds the door open for me. My numbers are a jumbled mess of English and Italian, ” One, due, three, four, five, sei, sette…”

And then I start thinking of Italian foods. My mind is filled with pasta and tiramisu and fancy formaggi.

I realized a long time ago that my brain was wired like this, so it makes total sense that I think in Eng-talian, sing while I ride my bike (it’s like the radio), eat my cereal without milk, have a color-coded closet, and window shop at grocery stores.

Because of this, I need brain food. This spread, it’s hardcore brain food. If you try it, soon you’ll probably be thinking like me.

Maybe this should come with a warning label?

Last Year: Peach Crumb Bars

Chickpea and Avocado Spread (+ Sandwich Option)

I love this spread. It’s a rare occasion that I don’t have it prepared in my fridge. My favorite way to eat it is on a sandwich loaded with veggies, but it also is really delicious as a veggie and chip dip. 

Ingredients

  • 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 ripe avocado, diced (see a great how-to here!)
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 2-3 green onions, diced small
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped – I love cilantro, so I add a lot. Feel free to add less
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. In a food processor puree the avocado until smooth. Add the chickpeas and pulse a few times. I like it chunky, so I don’t give it that many pulses. Add the lime juice, green onion, cilantro, and salt and pepper. Pulse a few more times until incorporated. Serve immediately. Store leftovers in fridge for up to 5 days.

 

To make into a sandwich, slap this amazing stuff on two slices of wheat bread (or gluten-free bread), add veggies – I usually use lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, etc. – and devour.

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Related Recipes

Pesto White Bean Hummus

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White Bean Pesto Hummus

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I love hummus. It’s great for sandwiches, on veggies, with crackers, slathered on your dog…

After coming back from Israel, I felt like I was attacked with a hummus plague. It was basically all I wanted to eat. I would polished off an entire container in a few days. I felt like Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.

I do like the store bought stuff, but there’s definitely something special about making your own. You can make exactly to your tastes and you don’t have to worry about all that other “stuff” in it.

Last week I made an incredible hummus (I’ll be posting that recipe soon!) and I ate it so quickly that I wanted to make more immediately. I love pesto and thought that it would be fun to make a pesto hummus.

For this recipe, I used white beans, which I feel are a little softer and milder tasting than garbanzo beans. The beans whipped into a light and super tasty dip that I can’t wait to try on all my “sang-wiches“.

If you’d prefer to use garbanzo beans, I think they would also work well. You may have to add a bit of water (or even tahini) while pureeing since I think garbanzo beans are a bit more dense.

This stuff is soooo good. You should make it. And eat it. And then make it again and give it to your friends. They’ll probably think you’re weird, but then they’ll taste it…

Crazy for Hummus? Try this!

White Bean Pesto Hummus 

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 1 can (15oz.) white beans (cannellini beans), rinsed and drained
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons pesto, homemade or store bought
  • juice of half a lemon (about 1 tsp)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Method
  1. In a food processor, combine beans, pesto, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. If you find it too thick, you can add water starting at a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Homemade Peanut Butter

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This weekend, I decided I wanted to make some homemade peanut butter. I love peanut butter… a lot. I really enjoy baking with it, but I also love having it with breakfast and lunch. My jar was getting low and I thought it would be fun to try to make some at home.

For a while, I have been kind of obsessed with Peanut Butter and Co., a company in New York that sells tasty, gourmet peanut butters around the country. They have flavors like Dark Chocolate Dreams and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl. I hope to try making some of the other flavors soon, but this time, I just made plain peanut butter sweetened with a little honey.

This recipe is super simple, just peanuts, oil, and salt. If you like sweeter peanut butter, you can add honey or maple syrup

Peanuts are an excellent source of protein and healthy fats. For this recipe, I recommend dry roasted, unsalted peanuts. Dry roasted peanuts have an excellent toasty flavor. I use unsalted peanuts because you can always add salt but you can’t take it away.

In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of peanuts until it forms a thick paste. Slowly add 1 teaspoon of peanut oil (preferred) or canola oil and a pinch of salt. Continue to process until you reach a desired consistency. This definitely takes a lot of patience, but it will eventually become really smooth if you keep working at it.

If you like a little added crunch, after you’ve made your peanut butter, add 1/8 cup of chopped peanuts

Homemade Peanut Butter - Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
  • 1 teaspoon of peanut of canola oil
  • Pinch of salt
          Optional Mix-in
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
  • 1/8 cup chopped peanuts (for crunchy peanut butter)
Method
  1. In a food processor, pulse the peanuts until a thick paste forms.
  2. While the processor is running, slowly add the oil and a pinch of salt. Continue to pulse the food processor until desired consistency is reached (about 5-7 minutes)
  3. If adding the honey, slowly drizzle the honey into the processor while still pulsing.
  4. If you want chunky peanut butter, mix chopped peanuts into ground peanut butter
I sweetened my peanut butter with honey, but I’m sure you could sweeten yours with a little sugar (about 1/2 teaspoon). Feel free to throw in some other fun stuff like chocolate chips or a sprinkle of cinnamon.
The peanut butter may be stored at room temperature, like store bought peanut butter, for up to a month. After that, you may want to refrigerate it because nut oils tend to become rancid after a certain period of time.