Dip into summer - Green pea hummus, cucumber and spinach raita

DC experienced a brief bout of heat and humidity before it was relieved by the thunderstorms (thankfully no tornadoes). During that time, I transitioned from still wanting soup now and again to just wanting to crawl into that bag of frozen blueberries in my freezer. As a sort of compromise, I made a couple of dips, all with success. So much so that after multiple meals of pita, dips, and smoothies, the only thing I want is more pita, more dip, and more smoothies even though the weather is no longer oppressively warm. 

A recipe for green pea hummus appeared on Serious Eats the other day and having recently acquired a well-loved second hand food processor (thanks, D+D!), I was eager to try it out. It involves simply processing a bag of frozen peas with some oil, lemon juice, and cheese but the results are fantastic: light but filling, and a little sweet from peas frozen at their peak. And it's seriously satisfying to dig into something so vibrantly green.



A second dip was inspired by a raita (yogurt relish) dish in Madhur Jaffrey's new cookbook, which is a beautiful book with highly approachable Indian recipes. I substituted mustard seeds with the more commonly found cumin seeds and added some cucumbers at the end. The result is a light but flavorful sauce that is delicious alone, on a salad, with a pita... you name it.

Spinach and Chickpeas

This recipe comes with the recommendation of the wonderful Natasha Weiser, so you know it's good. Great minds (if my brain can really be compared to hers) must think alike, because I was just thinking about what I was going to do with the pound of chickpeas in my freezer and some leftover spinach.

Now, you know I love my legumes, but I think my favorite thing about this dish is the bread pieces. I didn't have a blender/food processor/mortar and pestle, so I feebly tried to mash up the bread with a big spool and failed. But fortunately, this failure left the vinegar-y, garlicky bread pieces with their soft center and crisp exterior in all their glory. I seriously might just start sauteing bread + garlic + red wine vinegar for dinner in the future. Try it, you'll love it too.

My ratios were off when I made this tonight but I think the linked recipe as it stands can use more tomato sauce. The chickpeas can also stand to simmer for a good amount of time more to absorb maximum flavor. I'll probably come back to this post and add my own version of the recipe but use the link for now. I served the dish with a fried egg on top and over a slice of the same bread I used in the recipe, because frankly, Trader Joe's Italian Pane is good enough to appear twice in any meal.