Spinach-Chickpea Spread for Pita Sandwiches

Chickpea this, chickpea that. I know. They're good, okay? And iron- and folate-rich too. I've been wanting to make this spread recipe from Power Foods for awhile now. The catch was this: I didn't have a food processor. And somehow, the blender didn't really seem like it was going to cut it for this recipe. But, now we have a food processor (a special thanks to Ron)! Zack and I are so blessed to have people in our lives that support and care about our culinary adventures, so thank you. I know that's kind of corny, but I'm serious. Thank you.

This spread is meant to go on a pita along with some sliced tomatoes (at least that is how it is featured in my Power Foods cookbook), but really, this could be used just as a dip. We've dipped Trader Joe's multigrain pita chips into it as a snack, and we think it would be good with anything you might usually have hummus with. Because that is pretty much what this is; a spinach hummus.

Cook minced garlic in extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add chickpeas and lemon juice. Add spinach, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cover; raise heat. Cook until spinach is wilted, uncover, raise heat to high. Cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Let cool. Then, pulse the chickpea mixture (in a food processor) with some tahini sesame seed paste and a little more lemon juice and salt. Easy as that.

I'm excited to try making some of my own hummus recipes based off of this one. I think you could substitute the spinach with some other vegetables. Think red bell pepper, eggplant, sweet potato, etc. Ahhh yeah. Cheers to cooking experiments, one and all.