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Sep 15, 2016

Homemade Nori Crackers w/ Wasabi Edamame Hummus

Before telling you about these Homemade Nori Crackers w/ Wasabi Edamame Hummus we gotta go to that good ol’ disclaimer: Housevegan.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

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In the life of a food blogger it’s not uncommon to have a highly conceptualized post or recipe turn into something completely different halfway through. My original plan for this post was inspired by Binx, the black cat from Hocus Pocus. I envisioned dark black crackers served with an inoffensive green aquafaba hummus.

It was a worthy concept, but one that will never come to fruition in our kitchen.


With Halloween already in my heart this year I’ve been feeling inspired by my favorite seasonal movies. First with my Super Orange Pumpkin Juice and then with this recipe. I thought black crackers shaped like cats would be an adorable celebration of Hocus Pocus while also giving a little winky wink to my own little black cat, Moira:


And who doesn’t just love Hocus Pocus? It was a favorite of mine when I was a kid, and for being such an anxious child I was never really scared of witches. In fact I kind of looked up to them in a way. They were women in what seemed like positions of power. Representation matters, yo. Was I the only little weirdo that wanted to be Sarah Sanderson?



I totally used to make-believe that I could cast spells, and talk to cats. Though as a kid my dream spells were mostly used to appease my laziness with chores and homework as opposed to doing evil. Kind of like a tiny Samantha Stephens:


So what happened to my vision? Well coloring food black is hard, y’all. I didn’t want to use dyes so I needed a way to color them naturally. I wasn’t content with crackers that were grayish or purplish – I wanted something pure black and savory.

Eventually I had the idea to try nori for coloring. I added a small amount of the seaweed to my basic pumpkin cracker recipe, and it ended up tasting really great. This whole recipe concept changed when two things became clear:

1. Nori wasn’t going to work to color the crackers unless I used an overwhelming amount. No, thank you to that.

2. The flavor of the nori crackers was delicious as is, and needed to be matched with something equally appealing and interesting.


Since I was already planning to use edamame in the hummus I thought “Why not add some sushi-restaurant inspired ingredients like miso and wasabi to the mix and see what happens?”. What happened was a snack that wasn’t very witchy, but was still totally tasty.

While Nori Crackers w/ Wasabi Edamame Hummus aren’t exactly spooky, they’re a really fun version of such a basic appetizer. I mean, just imagine serving this at any fall party. People are always so impressed with homemade crackers, and the flavors of this Japanese-inspired hummus are definitely ooh and aah worthy.


As previously mentioned, the wasabi hummus uses that magical ingredient, aquafaba. Have you heard of it yet? It’s the liquid that legumes are cooked and/or stored in. If you’re using canned chickpeas for this recipe, drain the liquid (aquafaba) into a bowl instead of down the drain. If you’re making your own chickpeas from dried beans then take a look at this video from Mary’s Test Kitchen for instructions on turning the cooking liquid into usable aquafaba. 

Aquafaba allowed me to use less oil than what is used in traditional hummus, and while this dip is every bit as tasty as the OG, the smaller amount of oil makes it a little less robust. My Smokey Almond and Parsley Pesto w/ Aquafaba also has this quality so I’m guessing it’s common when replacing oil with aquafaba. It’s not a bad thing by any means, but know that the switch isn’t indistinguishable.

Mentioned in this post and recipe:
 

Homemade Nori Crackers
quantity depends on cutter size
Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
  • 1 sheet of roasted nori
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt for sprinkling
Directions:
1. Preheat your over to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. Add the pumpkin puree, nori, 1 tablespoon of water, soy sauce, and vegetable oil to your blender, and blend the ingredients until the nori is broken down, and the whole mixture is thoroughly combined.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine the all-purpose flour, onion powder, and garlic powder.

4. Add the pumpkin-nori puree to the flour mixture, and use a spatula to combine the mixture into a dough. It should come together into a ball just fine, but if it doesn’t add a little more water to pull the dough together. 

5. Transfer the cracker dough to a floured surface, and roll it out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out your desired shapes, and place them onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle a little bit of salt onto the tops of the crackers before placing them in the oven to bake for 13-15 minutes, or until they’re golden around the edges.

6. Allow the crackers to cool completely before serving or storing them. You can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. 

Wasabi Edamame Hummus
Ingredients:
  • 1 15 OZ can or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
  • 3/4 cup cooked shelled edamame
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • juice from 1 large lemon
  • 2 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 3-5 teaspoons powdered wasabi
  • 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup chickpea aquafaba
Directions:
1. In a food processor process the chickpeas, edamame, and garlic until the beans are well minced.

2. Add the lemon juice, miso paste, 3 teaspoons of the powdered wasabi (you can add more at the end if desired), soy sauce, olive oil, and sesame oil to the food processor, and pulse the mixture until it’s well combined. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula before the next step!

3. With the food processor running slowly drizzle in the aquafaba, and process the mixture until the hummus is smooth enough to your liking. Taste the hummus for salt, and season it if need be. Now would also be the time to add more powdered wasabi if you so choose.

4. Store your Wasabi Edamame Hummus in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Serve cold!



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