Looking for ways to incorporate more fermented foods into your diet? Middle East meets Far East in this mashup of hummus with umeboshi , Japanese-style pickled plums.

Note: This is a (non-fermented) hummus made with umeboshi mixed in. There is also a fermented hummus variation, which you could certainly use as the base of this recipe, earning you even more fermentation bonus points! 🎰

First I soaked dried chickpeas overnight and then cooked them.

Then I added them to a food processor along with some fresh diced garlic and salt and gave it its first spin. Then I add water and fresh squeezed lemon juice and gave it another spin, then tahini gave it another spin, and then I begin to drizzle olive oil into the food processor.

Now this is where we get to add the umeboshi, a Japanese salted pickled plum dish packed with umami and used to flavor other dishes. Umeboshi is often fermented a year or longer; this batch was from two years ago. I chop up the plums, removing the pits and I also pulled some shiso leaves (which fermented with the plums). Then I add these to the hummus and then give it another spin until it’s incorporated. I tasted it along the way and decided I could add one more plum then I felt like it needed a little more flavor, so I added umeshu, which is the brine that the umeboshi expressed when they were being processed and salted prior to fermentation.

Inspired by Alton Brown’s “Hummus for real” recipe.