Hummusalsa (Tomato Hummus)

Along with our huacamole adventure this weekend, Ashley and I made a second Mexican-inspired hummus to top our corn flatbreads (arepas).  We thought that along with a guacamole hummus, we also needed a salsa hummus.  And so Hummusalsa was born!

The texture on this hummus is totally different from the huacamole — instead of being perfectly smooth and creamy, this hummus is chunky.  It’s a great pairing to the huacamole salsa, in terms of texture, colour, and flavour.  We kept it chunky by making a smooth hummus in the food processor, and then folding in the tomato and green onion afterwards.

In this recipe, we used Mexican oregano, which is different from the oregano I’m used to seeing in grocery stores (known as Mediterranean oregano). Mexican oregano is actually a totally different plant, which is closer related to lemon verbena than to oregano.  It tastes more like savoury or thyme than like Mediterranean oregano.  I originally bought the Mexican oregano to replace epazote, which is called for in some Mexican recipes — and now I use it whenever I’m cooking Mexican or Tex-Mex.  If you don’t have Mexican oregano, you can use regular (Mediterranean) oregano.

These two hümmi (the huacamole and the hummusalsa) are both excellent on top of arepas, especially when topped with sliced ripe avocado and sliced green onions.  They’d also be great with tortilla chips or crackers, and I’ve been enjoying them in burritos.

Out of the two, Ash preferred this chunky hummusalsa and I preferred the creamy huacamole.  My sister, Heather, ADORED the hummusalsa and was so excited to take the leftovers home.  I say serve both and let your guests decide which one they like best.

Hummusalsa (Tomato Hummus)

• 1 can (300g/10 oz.) chickpeas, drained (or 300g cooked chickpeas)
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 big handfuls of cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. aleppo pepper (or 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper)
• 1/2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano)
• 2 tomatoes, cored and diced
• 2 green onions, sliced

Place all ingredients except tomato and green onions in a food processor and blitz until smooth (you may need to pause and scrape down the sides).  Spoon hummus into a bowl, and fold in the tomatoes and green onions.

Enjoy chilled or at room temperature.

Want to chat about hummus with us?  We’re going to be on Twitter next Thursday, September 19th at 8pm Eastern.  Our tweets will use the hashtag #hummuschat  — and we’ll be talking everything hummazing and hummus related! If you follow us both on Twitter (@ashleydtl and @kitchenoperas) you can join our Hummus Party!