In small quantities, I’m all about raw onions – which promote skin elasticity, among other things. There’s something amazing, however, that happens to onions when they are sautéed or roasted that makes them just absolutely sweet and delicious. Today, I’m caramelizing them to puree in a fresh hummus.

A couple of days ago, I made some semi-last-minute plans to first, have a girlfriend over for some standard catching up and gossiping, and later, to take Nolan to a friend’s house for dinner. Always one to provide or contribute nosh and drinks, I had to think fast. What was in the pantry? The fridge?

With Travis out of town this past weekend, we forewent our typical weekly Bountiful Basket run on Saturday morning (I’m too preggo to lift all that produce at this point!), so I was surprisingly low in plant stock. I do, though, always have beans, onions, and garlic on hand, so I knew that I could throw together a quick appetizer for both of my events. Having bought tortilla chips for an upcoming party we are hosting (blog post to follow), I was ready to make hummus. I can always buy more chips before the weekend. 🙂

Another win found itself in the green onions that I noticed had blossomed to great heights on my windowsill. Remember when I shared my lettuce wrap formula with you? I encouraged you to save your green onion roots in a cup of water and watch them grow back. A month and half later, check out the jungle I have in my kitchen! I instantly thought of using these to garnish my hummus.

There’s nothing new or incredibly exciting to report in today’s post other than that I created two amazing hummus dishes with the sweetness of caramelized onions in less than 20 minutes with ingredients I already had on hand. Check out what you have, get creative, and a scrumptious result just may surprise you. Enjoy!

FORMULA BASE: HUMMUS

• 2 cups cooked beans or lentils –>  I’m making two mini-batches of hummus, so I’m using a heaping cup of black beans for one and kidney beans for the other.
• 2 cups cooked vegetables and/or raw herbs (or more beans and lentils, if you want to keep it simple) –>  I’m using ¾ cup coarsely chopped onions and ¼ cup frozen corn in both batches.
• Approximately 1 tbsp oil, if including roasted/sautéed vegetables –>  I’m using coconut.
• 2-4 cloves raw or roasted garlic –>  I’m using 2 cloves in each batch.
• ¼-½ cup citrus juice –>  I’m using the juice of 2 limes in each batch.
• 1 tbsp tahini (optional) –>  I’m not using it for this particular recipe.
• Spices, salt, and pepper to taste –>  I’m using 1 tbsp dried cilantro, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp cumin, and a pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt in each batch.
• Liquid (water, oil, vegetable stock, vinegar, or more citrus juice) as needed until desired consistency is achieved –>  I’m not using any.
• SPECIAL ADDITION:  thinly-sliced green onions

If using, peel if necessary and coarsely chop your vegetables. Decide on a cooking method that works best for the particular vegetable(s) you’re using and have at it. Today, I’m sautéing my onions and garlic.

When the veggies are finished, put all ingredients (except the corn and green onions, in today’s rendition) in a food processor and puree until smooth.  Today, I had to repeat this process for the second batch.

Stir in the corn and garnish with green onions. Chill for an hour and serve as a dip or use as a spread (just like my pesto or creamy dressing formulas).

Store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Hummus has a tendency to dry out and/or thicken the longer it sits. Enjoy!