I almost have as many hummus recipes as I do grilled cheese recipes on this little ol’ blog.

What can I say? I’m a fan.

As most of us say goodbye to the warm weather months, we also find ourselves saying goodbyes to our beloved gardens. I know I’ve already had a heart-to-heart with my cherry tomato plant and this weekend it’s my handsome big basil plants turn to face the music. I plan to use its leaves for pesto (that I’ll freeze), make a big batch of basil chips and I’m even going to try drying the leaves and crushing them for soups and sauces. Don’t worry- I’ll keep you posted.

But another GREAT way to use up some of that basil is to stuff it in hummus.

This is a light and bright twist on old-style hummus by using fresh basil, LOTS of lemon juice and spices. There’s also the typical hummus-making suspects like chickpeas, tahini and garlic. All these goodies marry well and make for a strong hummus for dipping pita chips and veggies or for spreading on sandwiches.

Start by draining two cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans). I like to use my handy-dandy strainer and set it into a bowl to collect the liquids from the can, you’ll want to reserve at least 1/2 to 1 full cup.

Measure out 1 full cup of fresh basil leaves that have been rinsed and patted dry.

Throw the basil and the peeled clove of garlic into your food processor.

Add in the drained chickpeas…

…and 1/4 cup of tahini.

Slice a big, fat, juicy lemon in half. I tend to pick out softer lemons as supposed to hard lemons. I only find them to be juicier.

Set the same strainer that you used for the beans over your food processors work bowl and put the squeeze on the large lemon. The strainer will catch the seeds and you can use both hands to get the max out of that lemon.

Add in the sea salt, freshly ground black pepper…

…paprika and onion powder.

Secure the lid and pulse until coarsely chopped.

With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

It should be thick and still a bit lumpy. That’s completely okay!

I add a ladle which is about 1/2 cup of the reserved liquids to the hummus and continue to process until smooth. Feel free to add more for a thinner hummus or less for a more rustic, textured hummus.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, pulse a few times to make sure all is smooth and serve.

So if you’re wondering to yourself if you’ll like this hummus, because let’s face it, basil in hummus may sound a little strange. Let me tell you a little ditty about my daughter Haileigh, aka: The Hummus Hater. So yeah, my fourteen year old is a lover of salads, fruits and vegetables and has for the most part been a spectacular eater. Except she loathes hummus. It may be a consistency thing, I’m not quite sure. But I still make her try things because that’s not only the rule in our house but I know from personal experience (ahem, goat cheese) that sometimes you need to try things more than once to develop a liking for it.

SHE LOVED THIS HUMMUS! I’m not even kidding!! She, and I quote, said “This takes like hummus meets pesto.” (the girl likes her pesto) then she followed it up with a “This is genuinely good Mom.”

Like I didn’t already know, but STILL! I converted yet another hummus hater… one recipe at a time.

- You can serve it as a dip with cut veggies or toasted pita or naan shards.
- Use it as a base for a 7-layer hummus dip.
- As a spread on sandwiches, burgers or in wraps.
- Add it to salads or grain bowls when you want a touch of creaminess.
- Mix into salad dressings.

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