White Bean & Chick Pea Basil Hummus

Hummus is one of those foods that has infinite possibilities.  Once you have the base down, you can play around with different flavors. I had a basil hummus at a restaurant once, so this is my attempt to recreate it.

Ingredients:
1 can chick peas, drained

1 can great northern beans, drained (or you can use two cans of chick peas)
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves (approximately)    
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp bottled minced garlic
2 tsp pepper (to start, can add more to taste)
1 tsp salt (to start, can add more to taste)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper


To start, empty the drained beans and chick peas into a food processor. Add the basil leaves, garlic, tahini, salt, and pepper.

 

Pulse the food processor a few times to break up the ingredients. A lot of hummus recipes call for olive oil to smooth out the consistency, but to keep the fat content down, I substituted the olive oil with chicken broth. Start with about a a quarter cup and continue to blend the ingredients until you achieve a smooth consistency, adding more broth if necessary. I added just enough so that the hummus wasn't chunky. Be careful not to add too much or it could end up runny. Runny hummus = not good.

Now the fun part - the taste test. Depending on how you like it, here you can add more salt and pepper to taste. If you like a little kick of spice, you can add in the red pepper flakes. I used about 1/2 teaspoon, but you can use more or less depending on how much heat you like. Mix in any added ingredients, and serve with warm toasted pita points, or fresh vegetables.