Roasted Garlic And Red Pepper Hummus

A few years ago, I told a friend that I would put my hummus recipe on the internet so that she could make some herself. At the time I had every intention of forgetting to do so. That way she would have to stay my friend forever and not run away and stop calling the moment she got my recipe.

Since then I have received an e-mail every few months or so ‘gently’ reminding me that I have yet to actually cough up the secrets of my hummus. This is me giving in . . . Sort of.

This is not my original hummus recipe but a roasted garlic and red pepper version that I created earlier this summer. The original recipe will stay with me simply because I’ve held my ground too long to give up now. So hah!

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic
1 red bell pepper
1 small yellow onion - minced
1 large can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans - drained
1 tsp each: ground cumin, ground coriander, chili powder.
½ tsp cayenne
1 tbs each rosemary and oregano
1 – 2 tbs tahini
Juice of 1 lemon

To make:

1) Get your resident grill master (In my house that’s not me because Das Piper is still over protective of his shiny new barbecue) to roast the garlic and red pepper. If said grill master is you, here’s how you do it:
- Cut the top off your head of garlic so that the tops of all cloves are showing.
- Poke with a fork several times to score the surface to let more heat in.
- Drizzle with olive oil and wrap in tin foil. (You may also top with spices, I prefer a few shakes of Italian Mrs. Dash, and simply use your roasted garlic as a cracker spread with a nice soft cheese and forget about the hummus!)
o Depending on your barbecue or oven the Garlic may take anywhere from half an hour to 45 minutes. It’s done when the cloves are soft and sweet.
- The red pepper you can simply throw on the grill and cook until the outside is all charred and the inside is squishy.
o TIP: the easiest way to peel a roasted pepper is to throw it in a paper bag, close the top, and set aside to cool. For some sciencey reason this causes the skin to separate and you can then just pull it off with your fingers.
- Also keep in mind that you can roast these things in the oven if a shiny new barbecue and/or man slave are not available to you.

2) In a frying pan, heat your onion along with all of the spices until the onion becomes translucent. (That’s what all the cook books say . . . but I’ve never had see through onion, just heat it until it’s cooked.) Then set aside to cool.
o Tip: If you’re using fresh rosemary or oregano it’s sometimes nicer to add those later so that they keep their fresh taste. If you’re using dried, however, cooking them now will release all of their flavour.

3) Take your roasted garlic and scoop all of the soft and delicious roasted cloves out of garlic skin into a food processor, or blender, or large bowl that you will later attack with a hand blender. You’ll also want to add your roasted pepper, make sure to pull out all the innards and seeds before you chop it up and throw it in.

4) Add the chickpeas, cooked onion and spice mix, Lemon juice, and tahini, and blend to your heart's content.
- Make sure to taste as you go. The quantities listed above are to my tastes, you may like more or less of something, or may want to add your own spices.
- If you find that the mixture is too dry you may try adding a little olive oil, or more lemon juice, or some of the bean juice out of your chickpea can to moisten it.

5) Once your hummus is the texture of hummus you may start stuffing your face with it. Left over hummus is even better after a night in the fridge exploring all of its own flavours.