On a recent trip to Costco (with enough hunting around, there are indeed organic and clean-ingredient products to be found there!), there was a sale on Baba Foods hummus. We tasted and enjoyed many and bought three: sun-dried tomato and basil, spicy black bean, and garlic and artichoke. YUM. A nice way to switch things up with typical store-bought hummus flavors.Wanting something on the lighter side for dinner last night - and having these three tubs of hummus to go through - I figured I'd try and add some veggies to bulk the hummus up in a healthy way. What I wound up with is one of those "refrigerator/pantry recipes" - where I didn't plan ahead at all, but instead took a look at what ingredients were already in our kitchen and picked out a few that sounded like a good combination. With some fresh veggies, garlic, a touch of olive oil and a food processor, you really can't go wrong mixing together just about any combination of ingredients! And it takes all of 5 minutes. Quick, delicious andsuper healthy. Gotta love the food processor (I used a mini one) as a time saver!After preparing the tomato, olive and spinach dip, I thought it would go well with the sun-dried tomato and basil hummus. So into a bowl went the hummus, and I made a little well in the center into which I scooped the dip. We ate it by dipping in griddle pan-warmed za'atar pita (by Kermanig Bakery - another recent and great Costco find) slices.This dip works well on its own, and did exactly what I was hoping for in terms of bulking up the hummus with some quality, healthy veggies. In combination with the hummus, it's a nutritionally well-balanced dish - great for a snack, appetizer or light meal.Recipe: Tomato, Olive & Spinach DipNote: I didn't measure exact amounts when making this, but it shouldn't be a problem, as slight variations on the ratio of ingredients won't have a negative impact!What You Need
- 1 c cherry/grape tomatoes (any color)
- 10 medium green pimento olives
- 1 c loosely packed spinach
- 1/2 garlic clove
- pinch sea salt (or any other salt will do)
- a few grinds of fresh black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided in half
- 5 large basil leaves (optional)
- 1-in chunk of a fresh jalapeno (optional)
What You Do
- Add garlic to food processor and pulse to chop
- Add tomatoes and pulse to chop
- Add all other ingredients (minus 1/4 tbsp olive oil) and pulse, chopping to desired consistency
- Scoop into desired serving dish - over hummus or by itself - and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top
- Serve with warmed pita or whatever you want to dip in it, and enjoy!