Basil Hummus

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 cups sweet basil leaves, packed
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed then minced
• 2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Up to 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
• Several dashes Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste

Directions

1. Set a small skillet over medium high heat and add the pine nuts. As soon as you see color starting, keep them moving in the pan; once they are mostly pale gold, tip them into a bowl so they can cool. Hold back a few for finishing.
2. Drop the basil into a food processor with the garlic. Pulse in short bursts until everything is chopped nice and fine.
3. Add the garbanzo beans after they have been rinsed and drained. Spoon in nearly all of the toasted pine nuts, then add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, tomato paste, and a few shakes of Tabasco.
4. Keep pulsing, a few seconds at a time, until the hummus turns smooth. Taste, then nudge it with more Tabasco, salt, or lemon juice if it needs it.
5. Blend in water until the texture is where you want it.
6. Scoop the hummus into a bowl, gloss the top with a little olive oil, and scatter over the reserved toasted pine nuts. Put it out with pita wedges, crackers, or rustic bread.