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Crudités are traditional French appetizers consisting of sliced or whole raw vegetables which are dipped in a sauce. Crudités often include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, and asparagus spears. There are so many different sauces to relish with vegetable sticks! Hummus is a popular traditional dip in many countries and is well known all over the world. The basic recipe is delicious in itself. But why not to use some creativity to boost the flavor?
Basic Hummus
Mix 400 grams cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed, 1/4 cup tahini, 1/3 to 1/2 cup water, 1 crushed garlic clove, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, freshly ground pepper to taste and process in a food processor until smoothly pureed, then transfer to a serving bowl.
Avocado, Cilantro, and Lime Hummus
To the basic hummus recipe, add 1/2 to 1 whole ripe avocado (pitted and peeled, of course) before processing. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and juice of 1/2 to 1 lime, to taste, in place of the lemon juice. This is a nice cross between hummus and guacamole.
Pumpkin-Rosemary Hummus
To the basic hummus recipe, add 1/2 to 1 cup well-cooked or baked chunks of sugar pumpkin or butternut squash before processing. After processing, stir in chopped leaves from a sprig of rosemary, and use a sprig or two as garnish.
Beet Hummus
For this one, all you need to do is add a chopped cooked or roasted (peeled) medium beet before processing. A few pickled beets from a jar will do the trick as well.
Curry Turmeric Hummus
Add vivid color to your hummus with curry powder and turmeric. Start by adding 1 teaspoon of curry powder and 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric to the basic recipe before processing. Taste and see if you’d like more, then process again.
Basil Pesto Hummus
This one melds hummus and pesto into one neat package. It’s more summery than the others, but with basil having become more of a year-round herb, you can make it any time. Depending on how much you like basil, add 1/2 to 1 cup to the basic recipe before processing. You can also add a small amount of toasted pine nuts if you’d like, as well as a clove or raw or lightly sautéed garlic. Save a few basil leaves for garnish.
