The kitchen. ย It’s where I do a majority of my… standing.
Standing and staring.
Standing and staring and spreading cream cheese onto Wheat Thins.
Standing and staring and eating cream cheese and Wheat Thins until I come up with a recipe and post idea.
If you were a fly on my kitchen wall… well, I wouldn’t like that very much… but you would probably think that a) I have very few brain cells firing with all of the standing and staring I do andย b) I have an unhealthy relationship with cream cheese.
You might be right about the brain cells… ย I won’t argue that the standing and staring is a strange process. ย But the cream cheese? ย Yea… I’ll admit I have a bit of a problem with cream cheese and crackers. ย I’m trying to break the habit with chick peas and olive oil and mint and parsley. ย I think it’s working. ย I really think it’s working.
Delicious. ย Delicious. ย Crazy delicious. ย This spread is hummus meets pesto meets lemon meets delicious.
Ooh… and it’s totally healthy too. Dang!
This spread ย is creamy without the cream, a little tart, a little herby and all sorts of satisfying. ย On warm spelt tortillas… it’s my new favorite thing. ย For serious.
Chickpea, Mint, and Parsley Spread
Martha Stewart Living, May 2007
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 small garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
fresh ground black pepper
warm pitas, bread or crackers
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. ย Add the onions and cook until very soft, about 8 minutes. ย Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. ย Add the rinsed and drained chickpeas and cook for another 3 minutes. ย Remove the mixture from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
Put the chopped mint and parsley into the bowl of a food processor. ย Add salt, pepper and lemon. ย Add the chickpea mixture. ย I have a smaller food processor and did this in two batches, dividing all of the ingredients in half and blending it twice.
With the machine running, blend all of the ingredients and add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil in a slow and steady steam, allowing it to emulsify. ย Spread can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or transferred to a serving dish, drizzled with olive oil and served with warm pita or warm spelt tortillas (pictured).
59 Responses
Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt. This is incredible. Hummus meets pesto. I may or may not have died and gone to heaven. :)
I’ve been eating right out of the tapper ware the past 2 days but just now I spread a thick coat of it on a slice of toasted sourdough and had scrambled egg on top. Hearty and delicious. Eating breakfast twice in one morning? Not a problem.
Wow! Delicious looking spread this is! Breakfast will really be nice with these!
Joy the Baker, you have just brought joy to my life by sharing this lovely recipe. I love it!!
had this for lunch today with artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes and fresh spinach. yum!
This spread saved dinner the other night. When the entree disappointed, we put some of this on toasted naan. It was a little open-faced sandwich from the heavens.
I made this today and it’s great! It reminds me of a healthier spinach and artichoke dip. I’m now thinking of ways I could make spinach and artichoke dip using chickpeas instead of cheese..hmmm!
Thanks for the recipe, I’ll definitely make it again!
You spread cream cheese on Wheat Thins? I’ve been spreading it on Triscuits since I could chew. My mom passed it down. I’m working a box of rye ones at the moment. Fantastic with cream cheese. (Just fueling the fire.)
On the spread, if this really tastes like hummus and pesto, send help. I’ll need someone to pull my out at the ankles because I’m diving in head first.
I’m a newcomer to your site and I had to try this spread. It’s really good and goes well with naan bread. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m sorry for any extra pounds this may cause…
Have you ever put tamari on your cream cheese covered crackers? Seriously? Well, new years resolutions and crazy delicious chick pea concoctions aside, you have to try it. It’ll rock your socks off.
… So will crackers with goat cheese and apricot jam. Ok. Sorry. I’m going to stop now, mostly for the sake of everything near my watering mouth but also, just a little, for the people between me and creamy creamy cheeses. Oh and for you, of course.
Thats some funky sort of hummus you have going on there!
Update, I made this last night. And even though I used two CANS of chickpeas instead of two CUPS, it was still DELICIOUS! It really hit the spot…thanks, Joy, you’re my fav!
Good thing there’s a party coming up this weekend. May have to whip this up!
Hi Joy – Popped over from Blabbing About Blogs – congrats for being the featured blogger today!!! SO happy I found you ~ I’ll take one of each please! If it’s a food blog, I’m there. And here I am! By the way, I love the simple look of your blog – not all crammed with useless stuff. LOVE it!
That looks crazy delicious. CRAZY. And I just did a pantry inventory and happen to have 6 cans of chick peas. (And 4 boxes powdered sugar. Don’t ask.)
Cream cheese is also excellent on Triscuits.
Joy, I love you. This looks so perfect. I have a favorite Indian restaurant in Akron called “Aladdins” and I like to order the hummus and tabouleh and mix them together… this very much reminds me of that mixture. I’m definitely going to have to try this TONIGHT!!!
And about the standing and staring… don’t feel alone. I catch my boyfriend doing it all the time. He’ll be supposedly working on a project, and I’ll see him just standing there…staring… at nothing. And I’ll say, “what are you doing??” And he always replies, “thinking.” Oh, Ernie and his “thinking”… who can’t love that?
This sounds delicious, I am going to have to try it out for an upcoming “Girl’s Night” that I’m hosting.
You can never go wrong with Martha, can you?? :)
This sounds just perfect and fabulous. Thank you so much for sharing.
Sounds like the perfect snack.
hum…looks pretty darn good! and my cracker favorite are triskets :)
Your photos take the cake. Or the chickpea mint and parsley spread. Love it!
I now know what I’m having for lunch! This looks delicious! I love anything with mint. And, come to think of it, also anything with lemon. And also, anything with garlic. You’ve hit the trifecta!
Looks great and a terrific alternative to the heavy calorie spreads.
Thanks for another great recipe. Perfect for a small get together. And Happy New Year Joy! :)
This looks yummy! And can I tell you something funny? I was visiting someone before Christmas who was planning a party. She was talking about what to make and said something about one of your cakes, “you know, by Joy the Baker” and I couldn’t help but smile. I love coming across foodies who stalk other foodies. :)
This looks delicious. I get sick of serving hummus at parties, it just seems so boring. This looks like a great alternative.
My friend made this for a recent party and I was sooo pleasantly surprised by how perfectly the flavors went together! I could have eaten the whole dish of it, but didn’t want to be rude, so now I’ll have to make it myself :)
oooh, it looks good. I love hummus so I bet I would love this. My husband would probably not like it at all, but that’s ok. I’ll bring it to work and eat it for lunch every day! yum :)
As a fellow mindless spreader of cream cheese on crackers, this recipe intrigues me!
And maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I also do the mindless spreading of butter on saltines. So country.
ooooohhhh…. hummos meets pesto? that’s my kinda spread ;) not that i am opposed to cream cheese, but i definitely should lay off the fat for a while!
Hummus meets pesto? Yes! I make somthing similar to this only without the mint and onion…but this…well this looks delicious AND good for you! I haven’t been eating enough good-for-me things lately.
ps: I wish all my kitchen standing involved less dishwashing…
Mmm … cream cheese … on pretty much anything … but especially on garlic toast/crackers with some green olives on top. De-lish!
Thanks for the spread recipe – can’t wait to try it! Hopefully it will tame my love of cream cheese (and help me shed some pounds) in ways that Laughing Cow Lite has not!!
Not sure about the spelt tortillas. The ones we used to buy from TJs always went moldy on us way too fast. Probably b/c we didn’t have a good parsley spread to eat ’em with.
Do you like Rosemary Triscuits? They are our current fave cracker.
The timing on this is so perfect! I cooked up some chickpeas the other day to make hummus, but then realized I was out of tahini and I’m far too lazy to go buy some…but I have everything needed to make this in my fridge right now!
This does sound great. I will try this!
Oh, yes please! I love lemon and hummus and herbs! Perfect :)
Love! Can’t wait to make it in my new food processor!!
Cream cheese + wheat thins… glad I am not the only one. Then there’s cream cheese on toast. Cream cheese on carrots. Cream cheese on my spoon.
I like chick peas too. And I have some left over from a salad. Time to pick up some mint and parsley at the store on the way home. Because I never got around to planting that herb garden…
This looks really interesting. Gonna give it a go next time I find myself bored.
Oh Joy! I do the EXACT same thing! Stand and stand and stare in my kitchen while eating wheat thins spread with cream cheese. There is no telling how much I mindlessly eat because I think cream cheese has a trance-like effect on me.
I once bought a can of chick peas. I even took it with me when I moved to a new home. Had every intention of using it, but eventually even the can looked like it wasn’t fit for opening…had to throw it out. Now I’m realizing I want to make this and haven’t a can of chick peas!
Irony…bites me in the butt again.
Thanx for your blog…it’s my favorite by far.
Luv and Peaz!
Jen-
Ha, Joy! You crack me up with your writing style. I feel like we’ve been friends for years. Keep it up Girl, you always make me laugh in my crazy hectic overwhelming lack of sleep life (new bub is not very kind, still waking all hours of the night to feed!!!) :) *hugs* from FRIGID Cleveland.
Oh yes!! I also have an unhealthy relationship with cream cheese — but it is oh so good!! Forget drugs, just give me cheese!! Cream cheese is one of my four food groups – which consists of cheese, mac & cheese, cream cheese & chocolate.
Oh man, that sounds good! Mint, garlic, parsley and chickpeas? Sign me up!
That looks awesome! And I just happen to have some mint in the frig and parsley in the freezer. Thanks for posting!
I love mixing parsley and mint – they go so, so well together. This looks great! I might add a few dashes of red pepper flakes for an extra kick!
Believe it or not, my 17 month old daughter LOVES spreads. I will have to try this with her.
This is so unique! Would have never thought of this.
One word… Ok two… Errr YUM!! That looks awesome I’m so going to try it out at home this week. Thanks Joy :)
LOVE it!!! Perfect for our long summer evenings at the moment.
Cheers Joy, Happy New Year!
xx Em (an avid Aussie follower)
Looks yummy, and with a little yoghurt added?
XXX
This sounds like another good recipe to try for a Super Bowl party. I’ve been acquiring them online for the last couple of weeks.
Creamy without the cream? How interesting.
I love spreads, and dips, and anything appetizer-y. I have to be careful to limit myself to only eating them at parties…but I might have to make an exception to try this out!