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I’m not going to embarrass myself again with telling you just how much of my pre-Paleo, vegetarian diet was made up of hummus. It was a lot. I mean, I pretty much had a bodily composition of approximately 64% legumes. If there’s a Paleo version of hummus, I’ve made it. Cashew hummus? Yup. Zucchini hummus? Check. Roasted red pepper hummus? Uh-huh. Things got a little more difficult when I adopted the Autoimmune Protocol, though. No more tahini – oh, noes! That’s why I came up with this Garlic & Artichoke Hummus. It has all the delicious creaminess that I love about hummus, which you wouldn’t expect, and a lovely delicate flavor from the artichokes.

This artichoke hummus is super simple to whip up, since it only has four ingredients. The only trick is to make sure that you really carefully drain the artichokes. Squeeze as much water from them as you can to get the silkiest, smoothly dippable hummus. Pretty sure dippable is a word that should be used more often, despite my phone’s reticence. I like the freshness of the raw garlic in this recipe, but if you’re looking for a mellower garlic kick, try whipping up your artichoke hummus with a pinch or two of garlic powder, instead. You shouldn’t need any salt, since the brined artichokes will take care of that.

When it comes to serving as a delicious vegetable dip, I like to plate up my Garlic & Artichoke Hummus the traditional way, whipped into swirls with the back of a spoon and drizzled with plenty of extra olive oil. For a nice twist on flavors, I sometimes like to use a basil infused olive oil for a more Mediterranean feel, or some lemon infused olive oil for an even lighter, fresher taste.

A side note: watch out for labels on olive oils that have flavors. Make sure that there aren’t any surprise “natural flavors” in there. As a general rule, if something says “basil flavor”, it’s usually a flavor derived from basil, but “basil flavored” is a red flag. Regardless – flip that sucker over and check that label!

Don’t forget to think beyond the dip! You can use this artichoke hummus as a great addition to salad, a lovely accompaniment for grilled chicken or even a tasty burger topping. When I get to the last small amount left in a batch, I’ll thin it down with extra olive or avocado oil and a little more lemon juice to make a nice creamy dressing. I’m sure you can come up with some even better ideas: if you do, let me know in the comments below!