With her fascination for tea, food, and travel, she carefully selects premium artisan loose leaf teas from the East. Her collection is distinct and mostly limited to fresh, recent harvest teas from small tea farms. As she says, “you had me at Oolong tea!“ Yvette Arizala shares her Tea-riffic tales with us and takes us on an aromatic journey with tea! This time is a recipe for Matcha Cashew Edamame Hummus (Vegan friendly).
We love this super easy appetizer dip that’s packed with fiber, good fat, antioxidants, amino acid, and vitamins. The ingredients in this dip are some of our ‘must haves’ in our kitchen too: avocados, lemons, cashews (especially if you make vegan cheese), edamame (for snacking), and most of all, Matcha.
Matcha has been part of our daily routine for quite some time now. This superfood and immunity booster is one of our ‘go-to drinks’ in the mornings or pre-yoga/workout. It’s an energy booster, and at the same time, gives that stress-reducing ‘relaxed alertness’ from the amino acid L-theanine.
What is Matcha? Matcha (抹 茶) comes from the whole green tea leaves (Tencha – 碾茶) grounded into a fine powder. The entire green tea leaf is consumed during its refinement process, making it unique.
Matcha is made softer, sweeter & brighter through a shade growing process three weeks before harvesting. The stems, twigs, and other unneeded parts are then deveined before the leaves are ground into a fine powder.
Over time, our love for Matcha has evolved in our kitchen adventures as we experiment and cook with tea. This recipe is one of our favorites. And it’s great for entertaining guests too. All you need to do is add everything in your food processor, and you’re pretty much done! Dollop on your salad, use as a sandwich spread or as a dip. And the recipe is very flexible as well to your liking.
Total Time: 20mins
Yield: Serves 4-6 persons
Ingredients:
- 1 cup soaked cashews (can be replaced with soft chickpeas)
- 1 cup cooked edamame
- 1 whole small avocado (can be replaced with 3 tbsp. silken tofu or yogurt)
- 2 tsp of quality Culinary Matcha
- 2-3 cloves of minced garlic (adjust to your liking)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- -1/2 of a lemon squeezed
- pinch of salt
- pinch of black pepper
- pinch of sumac
- a few drops of Tabasco (optional)
Instructions:
- Pulse all the ingredients together until well pureed into your desired consistency.
(If the hummus is too thick, add a bit of water for a smoother consistency. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.)
- Spread in a serving bowl. Garnish with sesame seeds, cilantro, parsley, sliced radish, etc. Drizzle with sesame oil. Serve with rice crackers, pita chips, and vegetable sticks such as celery, radish, carrot, or cucumber.
Matcha Tip for this recipe:
There are varying quality grades of Matcha in the market. Use Culinary Grade when infusing with food or drinks. It certainly makes a difference to choose a quality one, ensuring the color is green (and not brownish army green).
Let us know what you think of this recipe!
Want to know more about Matcha? Feel free to visit the Vita da Té (Life of Tea) blog at www.yvettetea.com or Instagram: @yvetteteas
Article & Photos by:
Yvette Arizala – Founder of yv et té (Coming Soon), Special Member of the World Green Tea Association, Tea Sommelier, Yoga enthusiast & Animal welfare advocate