Pesto Hummus

The other night before I went to sleep I put a bunch of chickpeas in my slow cooker to simmer overnight. I do that quite often - put a pot of beans on the cook before I go to sleep and wake up the next morning wondering what to do with them. Despite not having any lemon juice on hand, I decided to make hummus. After scouring my refrigerator and pantry for lemon juice substitutes, I decided to use some pesto sauce that was sitting in there.

I used my homemade Broccoli Pesto, a thicker pesto. It would be simply delicious if you made the Broccoli Pesto, however you can use any pesto that isn't runny and saucy. Using the pesto, you don't need any tahini or olive oil.

This time I made the Broccoli Pesto with fresh parsley instead of spinach (as in the recipe) since that is what I had on hand. To match, I added some fresh parsley to the hummus. If your pesto uses basil, add basil - etc. This makes a pretty big batch of hummus - we eat it very quickly as a spread for sandwiches and dip for crackers and veggies. Cut the recipe in half if you don't think you'll eat it all in time.

Pesto Hummus

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 6 tablespoon Broccoli Pesto
• 1 tablespoon [vegan] mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• pinch of sea salt, to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until thick and creamy. Add a little bit of olive oil if it's too thick for your tastes.