Can you ever have enough hummus in your life? I’d say no. There’s so many different flavor combos you can make with chickpeas and it is such a perfect compliment to so many situations. Crackers and crudité with friends, mid-morning snack for the munchkins, topped with all the goodies for a giant party platter or loaded with sizzling meat for a delicious meal. (recipes for both of the latter coming soon.) Hummus is almost always a good idea. And lucky for me, my kids agree. Especially little Miss Sparkle, my pickier eater.
So when I first made this Roasted Red Pepper Hummus for them here in Istanbul, missing the delicious ready-made tubs of it back in LA that we used to snack on with those yummy Terra chips, I wasn’t sure if it was gonna fly with all members of the household. Ahem. Because, surprise surprise she also doesn’t like red peppers and definitely doesn’t gobble them up the way Mr. T does. (Btw, if you haven’t tried the red pepper hummus and Terra chip combo, you really should.)
So, the sneaky mama that I am, I wondered if masking them in her beloved hummus would do the trick. Well, at first she was a little suspicious why her hummus changed colors. Then her big bro, I love him so, may have cleverly told her something along the lines of “mama just put some carrots in it.” Well it worked. She polished off her plate and well, I couldn’t disappoint her about the carrots or intervene in T’s big saving moment. But between us, there’s no carrot in this. Though carrot hummus is very delicious.
Making this hummus is fairly easy and pretty much follows the same path as Our Favorite Hummus Recipe. The only exception is the roasting of the red peppers. Now you can make life simple and buy a jar of roasted red peppers. This will still come out delicious. But as sweet bell peppers are considered to be high in the pesticide category, I prefer organic, so just roast them myself. All you do, is place them on some foil in a really hot oven. Let them char up a bit for about 20 minutes, then seal the foil into a little pouch to create some steam, and peel and de-seed them. It can be a bit messy, but doesn’t take much time. And if you have little ones who enjoy getting their hands dirty, they might like helping you do this.
The rest of the ingredients are staple hummus items. I always like to make sure I’m using a good quality and tasty tahini. And as far as the chickpeas, canned or cooked yourself are great. If you cook them yourself, you can over cook them just a little as that will yield a creamier hummus. Some recipes using canned call for re-cooking the canned chickpeas to get them even softer, but I kind of think that defeats the purpose of going the simpler, faster route. If you want superb, impress your guests hummus, I suggest peeling off those little translucent skins. The end result will be super smooth. But again, you can go either way. When I’m just making it for us to enjoy throughout the week at home, I skip this step. I don’t include roasted garlic in this the way I do with my classic hummus, but if you like garlic, go ahead and throw some in.
I think you’ll find this a great addition to your hummus recipes and might even prefer making it yourself from now on over the store-bought kind. Both have their rightful places in my heart but knowing that what I’m feeding my family is completely free of any preservatives or extra ingredients is gold. And when time allows, is always my preference. Please give this a try and be sure to comment here or tag me on Instagram @a_treat_life if you do .
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 lg red bell peppers (or 3/4 c jarred peppers) (use an extra one if you want to garnish with it as well)
- 1 can chickpeas drained & rinsed (1 3/4 cups chickpeas drained)
- 1/4 cup ice cold water or chickpea liquid from home-cooked chickpeas
- 3 tbsps tahini
- 3-4 tbsps fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp ground cumin
- fresh ground pepper
- 2 tbsps more ice cold water if needed
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 250C/ 500F. Place the 2 bell peppers, whole, on a large sheet of foil set on a sheet pan. Roast the peppers for about 20-30 minutes, flipping them over halfway through roasting. They should be soft and starting to char all around. Immediately and carefully gather the edges of the foil up and together to create a sealed pouch. Let the peppers steam in the foil for 15 minutes.
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Now you want to seed and peel the peppers. Start by cutting off the stems, then vertically slicing down the middle to remove the core and seeds. This will be messy but the peels should come right off. Discard the core, seeds and skins and set aside the soft flesh we will use for the hummus.
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Add the drained & rinsed chickpeas to a food processor (or high-powered blender.) Pulse the chickpeas until they are processed down to very tiny little pieces and won’t blend any more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
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Then add the roasted & peeled peppers, the oil, 1/4 cup ice water (or chickpea water,) tahini, 3 tbsps lemon juice, salt and cumin. Process on high for about 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Taste and add the extra tablespoon of lemon juice if desired, salt & pepper if needed. Then also add the extra 2 tbsps of ice water if the hummus needs thinning out. Process another minute or so.
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If serving immediately, transfer the hummus to a serving dish, garnish with a little more olive oil, a sprinkle of paprika, or aleppo pepper, parsley or some chopped roasted red pepper if you roasted an extra one.
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If storing for later, transfer to a sealable container and refrigerate up to 4 days. Alternatively you can store the hummus in an airtight freezer-safe container for about 2 weeks. (Thaw in the refrigerator and give a good stir when ready to serve.)
Recipe Notes
*For a super creamy hummus, take the skins off the chickpeas by spreading them on a sheet pan then rolling your palm over the tops. The outer layer should loosen making it easier to pull off.)
*If cooking the chickpeas yourself, don’t toss the cooking liquid also known as the aquafaba. You can use it in place of the water for more flavor or in other recipes that use aquafaba.
*And also, if cooking the chickpeas youself, overcook them a little as softer chickpeas will yield a slightly smoother hummus.
