Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Not that I'm very into football, (don't tell my hubby) but I know it's about that time of year when game-day snacks become more popular. This is a great dip for football season, as well as any time of year.  It would also be nice in cold lunches to encourage more vegetable consumption if you use it as a dip.

If you really love garlic, feel free to use two cloves instead of one. 

On a side note, I finally finished the cake I've been wrestling with for days now! It's such a relief. I'm eating a piece as I type up this post. Lucky me, right? I promise, that recipe will be up next.

I don't know if you're the type that's able to munch on raw vegetables, but I get bored of that very quickly, so it's nice to have something like this hummus on hand. Plus, it's ridiculous how much they charge for hummus at the store. Did you see those ingredients? So basic...

If you use canned chickpeas and red peppers, this recipe will be ready in about 10 minutes. If using dried chickpeas, you'll have to start soaking them about 12 hours ahead of time. Other than that, let's get started!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Makes about 3 1/2 cups

1 lb. 13 oz. (822 g) canned chickpeas or about 3 1/2 cups cooked (see note below)
2/3 cup roasted red peppers (canned or 2 large bell peppers if making homemade -see note below)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for serving
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus 1 tablespoon for serving
Smoked paprika
Tortilla chips, pita bread, or sliced vegetables

In the bowl of a large food processor, fitted with the metal blade, combine chickpeas, roasted red peppers, 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Blend until puree is smooth. If more liquid is needed, add additional olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time.

Serve with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and additional olive oil with chips, bread, or vegetables.

Note- Cooking Dried Chickpeas
Put 3 cups of dried chickpeas in a large pot and cover with cold water. Allow the covered pot to soak overnight. Drain the soaking water and add fresh cold water so the chickpeas are covered by double their height. Place uncovered pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium low, cover pot, and allow to simmer for about 1 hour. Test to see if they are tender and continue to simmer if not fully cooked. The chickpeas should not have a dry, crumbly texture. If so, they are undercooked.

Note- Roasting Red Peppers
This recipe requires about 2 large red bell peppers.
Set oven to broil and place rack in top third of oven.
Wash the peppers and place in a sheet pan. Place in oven and check every 2-3 minutes. You want to have a nice black burn to the skins so they separate from the peppers and develop good flavor.
Turn with tongs and continue broiling until all sides are black.
Remove from oven and place in an airtight container to cool slightly for about 15 minutes.
Using your fingers, peel the skin away from the flesh of the peppers and discard. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the white ribs and seeds. Do not rinse the remaining flesh because it will remove most of the flavor.

Pinit


I'm linking up this recipe at Simple Lives Thursday and Real Food Wednesday.

10 comments:

  1. I love, love hummus and have promised myself over and over that I'll make a red pepper version. I am going to walk over to my shopping list and add a red bell pepper to it...I always have garbanzos, etc on hand. Thanks for the push...it looks marvelous!

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  2. Thanks Lizzy! I'm so glad you are going to try it. I think homemade is always better than what you can buy from the store. Hope it lives up to your expectations!

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  3. Averie @ Averie CooksOct 25, 2012, 12:13:00 PM

    I love homemade hummus and it's so easy and fast, cheaper and....WAY BETTER tasting than storebought and yours looks awesome!

    Just saw it on tasteologie, too :)

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    1. Thanks Averie! I was getting a little annoyed that nobody would accept my photos, so that gave me confidence when I saw that just now.

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  • It should also taste delicious if you substitute the red pepper with eggplant (the round purple kind), specially if you love eggplants. Just bake the eggplant at 350 till its turn soft, you can feel the softness when you touch it with your finger; if you are doing only one eggplant then it takes between 20 minutes to 30. If doing in big volumes with many eggplants then 1 hour or more. After it is done take it out and scoop the inside discarding the skin. Then use it as you did the red pepper. Half volume chickpea paste and half eggplant paste would do fine or variances in volumes can be experimented till you reach your desired taste. More variations: add some Italian herbs to the blender to make the eggplant more appetizing. Add vegetable-stock by spoonfuls to the blender till desired consistency is reached. After it is done I prefer to spread it over a wrap or tortilla of my choice (which is multi grain), roll it up and its ready to be eaten from one end to the other.

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    1. This sounds super delicious, Anonymous! I normally don't like the texture of eggplant (too rubbery), but I know I could handle it this way. I'm going to keep it in mind...

      Thank you for stopping by!

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  • Allow me another stop!
    I made this one and it came great and tasteful. However, i boiled the fresh red peppers in water in place of roasting them. After a while of boiling in the water the skin will come off easily, like if you boil a tomato in the water before skinning, then i drained in a strainer before adding the prepared red-peppers to the blender. A bit of celery-root or parsnip or both added (preferably first softened by boiling just a bit) will take away the sweetness from this hummus. That sweetness comes of course from the red-peppers.
    I did this time with canned chickpeas; usually I use organic-dried-chickpeas in my recipes and will try it that way next time.

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    1. I love how you took my recipe and made it yours! I've never tried boiling peppers, but it seems easier than roasting. Although I wonder if you still get that great roasted flavor...

      Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!

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  • Ok another detour!
    There is no roasting flavor...rather a nice creamy taste. I like very much the skinless fresh red peppers after I boil them in water, it melts in your mouth and....I use them as side-dish or in sandwiches.
    I buy the red peppers when they are on sale..since they are rather expensive and the output they give after preparing them in this way is so little --just few spoonful.

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    1. I'm intrigued...I'll have to try boiling next time a recipe calls for roasting and see what I think!

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