Chippy Dippy Hummus Salad

For those nights when you need a salad but still crave chips and dips--or just want to combine an appetizer and salad. Whirr up a homemade batch of hummus a la Jacques Pépin and spoon it on top of a big, fluffy bed of well-seasoned baby arugula. Surround it with fresh vegetables along with your favorite chips and small bowls of onion dip and pico de gallo for a dinner that will satisfy all, well maybe nearly all, of your cravings.

4-6 servings

Ingredients

SALAD:

5 -ounces fresh baby arugula
1/8 th teaspoon each kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and crushed red pepper or to taste
½ EACH: red and yellow bell peppers, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
6 radishes, sliced but not too thinly
12 cherry tomatoes--a few will garnish the hummus
12 celery sticks, about 4-inches by 1/2-inch
1 small zucchini, sliced into spears
1/3 English cucumber, sliced into spears
16 baby carrots
1 lemon, cut into fourths

HUMMUS:

2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas, drained *Reserve liquid (aquafaba) from one can
5 cloves garlic, minced
A generous pinch or two each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of one large lemon--or more to taste
4 tablespoons peanut butter or tahini
3-4 dashes Tabasco or other hot sauce—or to taste
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Smoked paprika or fresh ground black pepper or chopped roasted red peppers

CHIPS AND DIPS:

2 cups EACH: tortilla chips, pita chips, and potato chips
½ cup sour cream onion dip, homemade or purchased
½ cup pico de gallo, homemade or purchased

Instructions

MAKE THE ARUGULA SALAD BASE:

Toss together the arugula with the spices and spread evenly in a 3-quart, rectangular casserole or large, shallow bowl. Set aside the casserole along with the raw vegetables and lemon.

MAKE THE HUMMUS:

In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, pulse until well-blended the drained chickpeas plus a good drizzle of the reserved liquid (aquafaba) from the chickpeas-a couple of tablespoons, perhaps, depending on the texture you desire. Add the minced garlic cloves, the salt and pepper, lemon juice, peanut butter or tahini, Tabasco, and process, pulsing, until smooth.
Leaving the machine running, drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil until well-blended. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding a little more chickpea liquid, if needed. You’ll add the garnishes in a moment. Set aside just for a moment.

ASSEMBLING:

Place the casserole dish or large, shallow bowl with the arugula in a large basket or on a large serving platter lined with towels or napkins. (Another half-sheet pan would do in a pinch in place of the basket.)
Spoon the prepared hummus down the center of the seasoned arugula in the casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika or black pepper (plus roasted peppers, if using) and garnish with a few cherry tomatoes.
Arrange the raw vegetables in groups around the edges of the arugula salad, adding the lemon wedges at the corners.
Arrange each variety of chips and then glasses or bowls of dips in between along the outer edges of the casserole dish, spreading to fill all the spaces.
Check out your gorgeous work and rearrange as needed.
Hummus can be made a day or more ahead but cut the fresh vegetables and assemble the salad, chips, and dips just before serving.