Parsley Hummus, Gloriously Green and Delicious.

 Our Parsley is growing very well in the raised garden at the moment, however once the humidity and then the rain arrives, it will probably die off as it has in previous years. So I am "making hay whilst the sun shines", or parsley hummus whilst the parsley thrives.  In fact I may have over planted, just slightly, (ha, ha) with 8 thriving plants, so some of them need to go to make room for other edible  plants. I love to have parsley growing. It is the essential healthy Mediterranean herb, is an excellent source of Vitamin A, C and K and a good source of iron and folate. It finds its way into a lot of my cooking. How about you? It also grows well in large pots in full sun.

I know my last post was also about hummus, and I am loving making it experimenting with different herbs and vegetables. I am on a mission as our wonderful daughter has recently become engaged to be married, and so I am gradually making a few dishes in preparation for a party in September. This parsley hummus is destined for the freezer and the party. By then I may have also made beetroot and pumpkin hummus. The different coloured hummus should look attractive as well as making a great starter, don't you think?



In the same garden as the parsley the spinach is also growing very well.  Small basil seedlings are starting to germinate from seeds from my seed bank which I planted a couple of weeks ago so I should have lots of summer basil this year for pesto and pasta dishes.



 This parsley hummus will use up some of the parsley for now, in a most delicious way.



To prepare the parsley for my hummus this morning, I placed the parsley on newspaper as it was straight out of the ground.  I made a cup of tea, sat down and relaxed,  pulled the leaves from the parsley and placed them in a bowl for measuring. This is yesterday's newspaper, so I enjoyed having a read as I removed the leaves. The parsley stems can be quite tough so they went into the compost heap. Such a relaxing and rewarding Sunday morning activity.

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 cups well cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tblsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil
3 tblsp. reserved chickpea liquid or water
1 1/2 cup parsley, packed down
1/2 tblsp. cummin powder
1 tbsp. tahini
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Method:

Place garlic in the food processor and process until chopped.
Add the chickpeas and grind them up before adding other ingredients.
Add the liquid ingredients and process until well mixed together.
Add the parsley and the remainder of the ingredients.
Add extra equal quantities of olive oil and water  very slowly through the chute until the a nice spreadable consistency is achieved. It will start to flow around the bowl when it is the right consistency. Chickpeas I have cooked myself as explained in my previous post often require more additional liquid to be added.



Makes approximately 2 cups of delicious hummus.

Well my friends I hope your week ahead is happy, rewarding and productive

Best wishes

Pauline