Last week I made this balsamic caramelized onion hummus on a whim, and now it’s my new favorite. It’s a slightly sophisticated take on hummus, and though it’s delicious as a dip, I can’t wait to make veggie sandwiches with it.
One of the foods that I’ve made regularly for years is hummus. But I can’t just make the same old hummus all the time, so I like to mix it up. I’ve made chipotle feta hummus, spinach artichoke hummus, roasted red pepper hummus, spicy hummus, pesto hummus, balsamic hummus, and now this balsamic caramelized onion hummus.
If you can’t decide what kind of hummus to take, just make them all, and serve them as a hummus flight.
If you have leftovers, other than eating it on pita bread or veggies, you can use it as a spread on a sandwich or wrap as a substitute for mayonnaise or mustard.
As usual, I used chickpeas that I cooked myself from dried beans. I included my method below, but if you want you can use canned beans.
Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans* (1 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup caramelized onions**
3 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
2 to 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic
3/4 to 1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
Place all ingredients in a food processor, and puree until smooth. Taste, and adjust salt and vinegar to taste.
* To cook my beans, I cover them with plenty of water, plus a spoonful of baking soda, and let them soak overnight. Then in the morning I drain the water, add fresh water, and cook in my slow cooker until tender. I do big batches of a few cups of dried beans at a time, and freeze the extra beans until I want to make more hummus.
**Although you could use store-bought caramelized onions, I used caramelized onions that I made in my slow cooker and froze, leftover from this roasted squash and caramelized onion bruschetta. I let them thaw in my fridge before using them for hummus. Here’s how to caramelize onions in your slow cooker:
8 yellow or white onions, thinly sliced (I had mine sliced in no time with this mandoline.)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or melted butter
Place the sliced onions in the slow cooker, and toss with olive oil to coat. Turn the slow cooker on low, and cook for at least 10 hours. Stir, check for browning, and continue cooking for up to 4-5 hours more until the onions are dark brown and caramelized. If there is still a lot of liquid at this point, you can take the lid off and let some of the extra liquid cook off, but be sure to watch closely and stir often to make sure the onions don’t burn.
If preparing ahead of time, let onions cool, and refrigerate. Extra onions can divided into smaller portions and frozen for approximately 3 months.
