Lima Bean Hummus

Summary:  While in N.C. on vacation, I bought a small tub of lima bean hummus. I believe it was made by Roots, and I went for it because I've never met a lima bean I didn't like. This did not disappoint; on the contrary, it was love at first bite. Spectacular flavor and spice. It was so smooth and made a chip feel fancy and a good sandwich feel all gussied up! This is my attempt to recreate. Delicious! You can also make burgers out of this by pureeing just until chunky. See Note in the instructions.

Yield: a nice tub

Ingredients:

• 1 pound shelled lima beans (I used frozen, organic beans that I thawed at room temp), cooked until tender but not mushy
• 2-3 tablespoons safflower or olive oil
• the zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground
• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon thyme (just the leaves)

Instructions:

Put everything into a food processor and blend until the mixture reaches your desired level of smooth.

Note: If you want to make burgers, leave things relatively chunky. Shape into patties, fry in a skillet and serve with whole grain bread and arugula mayo.

If you want this to be a straight-up hummusy dip, puree until very smooth, adding more oil if needed.