White Bean and Cashew Hummus with Zhoug is a series of unexpected twists and turns and the perfect accompaniment to an inspired Meatless Monday. A lightly spicy zhoug sauce adds a bit of heat to the depth of creamy, nutty, and zesty profiles of the hummus. Enjoy this recipe with endive leaves for that touch of a bitter finish or with your favorite flatbread instead.
What is Zhoug?
Hailing from Yemen but also popular in Israel, zhoug is a fresh-made sauce for Middle Eastern staples. It mixes mainly cilantro, parsley, and peppers but you can also add in other spices as we do in our recipe below. For instance, we use garlic, coriander, cumin, blood orange zest, lemon juice, and brown sugar to explore the complexities of our White Bean and Cashew Hummus. The best zhoug is thick and spreadable, so it should be more of a chunky sauce.
White Bean and Cashew Hummus with Zhoug
Description
Get your pita, crackers, or flatbread ready for dipping!
Ingredients
- 1 15.5 oz great Northern beans
- 1 cup raw cashew pieces
- 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- ½ lemon, zest and juice
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
For the zhoug:
- 1 tsp cardamom pods
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 3 Serrano chilies, finely chopped
- 4 large cloves of garlic, crushed
- ½ small blood orange or navel orange, zest and juice
- ½ lemon, juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp sumac
- 1 ½ cups cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup parsley. coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- First, drain the beans, reserving the liquid to use later. Then, place the cashew pieces in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Let soak for at least 10 minutes.
- Once the cashews have soaked, place them in a food processor, reserving the water to use later. Blend until the cashews begin to form a thick paste.
- Then, pour in ¼ cup of the reserved cashew water and ¼ cup of the reserved bean water and blend to a smooth paste.
- Next, add the crushed garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, drained beans, white pepper, coriander, cumin, salt, and olive oil.
- Blend until everything is combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
For the zhoug:
- First, lightly toast the cardamom, cumin, and coriander in a small skillet. Let cool completely and then grind in a spice grinder or crush with a mortar and pestle until powdered. Set this aside.
- In a blender or food processor, pulse the serrano chilies, garlic, and the spice mixture a few times. Then add the zest and juice of the orange and the juice of the lemon, along with the salt, brown sugar, and sumac.
- Next, add the cilantro and parsley and pulse a few times to combine everything. Make sure to not blend it too much as you want some texturer to the zhoug.
- Finally, add the olive oil and pulse twice. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.
- To serve, place the hummus in a bowl, top with the zhoug, and drizzle olive oil to taste. Add toasted cashews, pomegranate seeds, almonds, etc to garnish.
Recipe by Veda Sankaran
Photography by Brooke Lark
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