Rosemary-artichoke hummus

I swear I thought I had two cans of chickpeas, which is what’s required by my all-time, Mom’s-favorite hummus recipe, when I got out the food processor to mix up some last week. I swear it, but after much swearing of the naughty kind and a full unpacking of my entire pantry, I determined the truth: One can is all I had.

But all that archeological effort yielded a can of artichoke hearts. Interesting, I thought, and left them on the counter.

Earlier in the summer I tried replacing the mint in my hummus recipe with sage, and this time around I thought I’d give rosemary a whirl. Rosemary and artichoke hearts? It seemed as good a combination as any.

I mixed it up and took a taste. Then another. Then five to eighteen more. This hummus? Good enough to just spoon up like it’s meant to be your entrée.

My friend Alison agreed, as we sat out on my back porch and enjoyed some more. “I could just eat this all night,” she said. “I don’t normally like hummus all that much, but it’s so flavorful and so mild!”

It’s also healthier, even, then regular hummus. Not only do I, once again, skip the tahini, but the artichokes give it an easy smoothness that requires even less olive oil than usual.

“I’m going to make this every week for the rest of my life,” I told Alison. “It’s my new favorite food.”

Rosemary-Artichoke Hummus

2 cloves garlic
3 or 4 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
1 15 oz. can chickpeas
1 15 oz. can quartered artichoke hearts
The juice of one lemon
Three Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

1. Combine the garlic and rosemary in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 8 to 10 times to chop.
2. Add the chickpeas, artichoke hearts and lemon juice to the bowl of the food processor. Process for approximately 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl and process again while drizzling in the olive oil. Feel free to add extra olive oil if you do not feel like it’s smooth enough.
3. Add salt to taste and serve with crackers, bread or vegetables for dipping.

This post is my contribution to this week’s edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted by Zorra from Kochtopf on Monday, August 20. Stop by for the full round-up!