Recipe: Hummus in Cucumber Boats

With the new year, many of us have made resolutions to eat healthier. One of the things I’ve discovered on my journey to better eating is that healthy, real food doesn’t have to be plain or boring! You can create healthy food that will nourish your body and taste great, and with a few simple tricks you can turn a very simple meal into something beautiful that graces your table (as well as your taste-buds).

This recipe for Hummus in Cucumber Boats is simple, but really fun. The hummus is made with Greek olives, plenty of fresh organic garlic, tahini and protein-packed garbanzo beans. Rather than serving it with carb-laden chips or crackers, why not pipe it into a little fleet of delicious, crisp mini cucumber boats? Cocktail cucumbers are so crunchy and flavorful, you won’t miss the chips at all.

Start by preparing the hummus. Drain and rinse one can of organic garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas). Put these in a food processor with a handful of Greek olives, a bit of olive juice, several cloves of fresh garlic, a tablespoon of tahini and a quarter-cup of extra virgin olive oil. Pulse until it starts to form a paste, then drizzle in water until you get the consistency you’re looking for (I used about 1/3 cup of water, but it will vary). Add a bit of sea salt, and blend it well…it may take a while to get a nice smooth texture but it’s worth the wait!

Once the hummus is ready, cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to remove the seeds (I used a grapefruit spoon…it works really well). Then, spoon or pipe the hummus into the little “boats” and arrange them on a plate. You can go fancy with this, garnishing with green onion and an olive or two…or, if you’re serving these little treats to kids (and what kid doesn’t love finger food that walks the fine line between playtime and mealtime?) you could have some fun making a little fleet of boats sailing on green salad, with a few homemade goldfish crackers swimming in between!

Yield: 12-14 mini cucumbers

Hummus in Cucumber Boats

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A simple and healthy recipe packed with flavor: crispy and fresh cucumber boats with a delicious vegan hummus spread.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 can organic garbanzo beans (chick peas)
• 8 organic Greek olives
• 3 tablespoons juice from the olives
• 2-3 cloves fresh organic garlic
• 1 tablespoon organic tahini
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 12-14 organic mini cucumbers

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine the first 6 ingredients and pulse until a paste starts to form.
2. Drizzle the water in as you run the food processor, until you reach the consistency you'd like. Add the salt and continue to puree.
3. Puree the hummus until it's smooth, this may take several minutes.
4. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works well). Pipe or scoop the hummus into the center of each cucumber "boat," filling in the center where the seeds were.
5. Arrange the "boats" on a platter and garnish with green onion and olives, or serve them on a sea of salad with goldfish crackers.

Notes

Optional: Top with tabbouleh to make them extra pretty!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 173Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 219mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g

The calculated nutrition values are a product of online calculators and should only be considered estimates.

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Photography by Jennifer Leung Johnson

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