Edamame "Hummus" with Spiced Pita Chips

I love edamame and I love hummus. When I saw the recipe title, I thought: how can this not be amazing? Well, it's not really hummus. There are no chickpeas, no tahini. Instead, there's tofu. I'm not a huge tofu person, so I went into this very skeptically.

Ingredients:

For the hummus:
2 cups frozen shelled edamame
1 cup silken tofu, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt, with more to taste
pinch of white pepper, with more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, with more to taste


For the pita chips:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 whole wheat pita rounds

Step by step instructions:

For the hummus:

1. Prepare the 2 cups of edamame according to the package instructions and set 1 tablespoon of cooked edamame aside, for garnish.

2. Place the rest of the edamame, along with the tofu, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, oil, and lemon juice in a food processor and process until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

3. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice to your tastes.

4. Pour "hummus" into a bowl and refrigerate.

For the pita chips:

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. Combine the olive oil and spices into a large bowl.

3. Cut the pita rounds into 8 slices each.

4. Add the pita wedges to the oil and spice mixture and toss to coat.

5. Spread the wedges in a single layer on two baking sheets and bake, flipping over once, until the pita chips are brown and crisp, about 15 minutes.

(before baking)

(after baking)

To assemble:

1. Spread the hummus on the cooled pita chips and garnish with edamame and a sprinkle of cumin.

Recipe from Ellie Krieger

Evaluation: When I tasted the "hummus" alone, I was not crazy about it. I was a little worried. There was something about the texture and the taste. I added a little more lemon juice, salt, and pepper before refrigerating the hummus. When I assembled the whole thing, it really worked. There was still something odd about the texture, but it was pretty good. The pita chips were crunchy and well seasoned. They were great alone and with the hummus.

Both recipes make 12 servings. The hummus will keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 3 days and the pita chips will keep in an air-tight container for about 3 days also.