Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus Vegetarian Food

ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS WITH PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Note: *I use anywhere from 12-15 cloves, but your mileage may vary. It's also good to keep in mind that raw garlic takes a while to fully flavor a dish, so be careful of relying too much on that first taste. You just might end up adding more garlic when you don't actually need it (ha, as if there was such a thing!). When I make my hummus and serve it on the same day, I usually back off on the fresh garlic and increase the garlic powder, which gives more of an immediate flavor.
• If you're roasting your own peppers, throw them in the broiler now. Broil peppers until they're burnt to a crisp. Use tongs to place pepper in sealed plastic container and steam for 5-10 minutes (the longer you wait, the easier it will be to get that skin off). Carefully peel away blackened skin, then remove stem and seeds while preserving as much of the liquid inside the pepper as you can.
• Toast pine nuts in a hot, dry saucepan. These two things (broiling peppers and toasting pine nuts) can both be done while you're combining the rest of the ingredients, but be sure to keep an eye on the pine nuts, as they go from raw to perfectly toasted to burnt to a crisp in a matter of seconds.
• Combine garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and cayenne in food processor and blend until smooth.
• Add roasted, peeled peppers** and as much of their liquid as you managed to save to food processor and blend into garbanzo bean mixture.
• Slowly drizzle olive oil into mixture until you get the consistency you're looking for.
• Taste the hummus. At this point, it usually needs another squirt of lemon juice and a half pinch of salt to really solidify the flavor.
• Garnish with paprika and toasted pine nuts and serve with vegetables, crackers, baguette slices, or pita
• (serving size is approximately 1/3 c).

ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER HUMMUS

Steps:

• Place the whole peppers in an oven-proof skillet and set them to cook in a preheated 450°F oven. Turn the peppers every 10 minutes. Roast them for approximately 30 minutes or until the skins have blackened. Place the roast peppers directly from the oven into paper bag and seal it closed.
• Allow the peppers to rest for 10 minutes in the bag, this will loosen their skins. Remove the peppers from the bag and while holding them under cool running water, peel away the black skins and remove the stems and seeds; all that should remain is the flesh of the roast peppers.
• Combine the roast peppers, chickpeas and garlic in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the tahini, lemon, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper; puree another minute until the mixture is very smooth.
• To serve: place the hummus on a large plate that has been lined with lettuce leaves. Make an indentation in the center of the hummus and pour in the olive oil. Sprinkle the parsley across the hummus and serve with flatbread or pita.

ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS (TAHINI-FREE)

Steps:

• Drain both cans of chick peas, reserving the liquid from one of the cans.
• Add both cans of beans to food processor along with 1-2 cloves of peeled garlic (no need to chop, the food processor will take care of that!), about half a jar of roasted red peppers in water (also add a bit of the liquid if you'd like to boost the pepper flavor), juice from 1/2 lemon, cumin, chili powder, and some salt.
• Drizzle in olive oil (I usually use do one turn of the food processor, approximately 1 TBSP).
• Blend for about 30 seconds. Add some of the chickpea liquid if needed to get the right consistency.
• Continue to blend until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides and adding more liquid as needed.
• Enjoy with your favorite veggies or pita chips. My favorites are carrots, cucumber slices, sugar snap peas, and red bell peppers!