Roasted Red Pepper Hummus + tips for a smoother hummus

Ahh guys, I don’t know why or how come but I’m totally into making condiments at the moment! I guess it is because I’m back at uni now, and I have to plan my meals a bit more – hence the super portable (and delicious!!) grain salad from last week.

Although making your own jam, pesto or pasta sauce takes a little more time than just buying it in the store, it really is worth the extra effort if you take into account the amazing flavor and cheaper price of home-made goods!

So, this Roasted Red Pepper Hummus is the newest addition to my condiment stuffed fridge haha, but I don’t mind! It is so delicious!! When you roast red peppers, they get this really amazing sweet and sultry flavor and texture, which is just simply wonderful. For this recipe I roasted my own peppers, as I had the time and it is cheaper, but if you’re short on time you can of course use store-bought roasted red peppers, just make sure to use a little less oil.

There is a huge difference between store-bought hummus and the home-made version, partly because you can flavor it to your liking, but also because you can use the best quality chickpeas, olive oil and spices. With a simple dish like hummus, it is just so important to use good quality ingredients, as it can totally take the flavor from meh to amazing without changing the recipe or proportions.

There are a couple of tricks to making nice, smooth and creamy hummus, and if you’ve made hummus yourself and it did’t turn out very smooth, please try these tips:

1. Use skinned chickpeas. Most canned chickpeas are skinned, but the dried version often is not. The easiest way to skin your chickpeas is to take one between your thumb and index finger and press. The chickpea will now let its “skin” go, and you can throw the chickpea in your food processor or blender. Discard the skins. I know this might look like a lot of work, but this is totally worth it, as it will take your hummus to a whole new level.
2. Use lukewarm chickpeas. If you’ve boiled your chickpeas yourself, this is easy – just throw in the chickpeas if they’re still lukewarm – but if you’re using canned I would suggest putting them in the microwave for a few seconds or heat them in a little water.
3. Use a really strong food processor/blender, and blend long!! Keep blending if you’re not happy with the consistency, even if it has all combined already. The prolonged blending will heat the hummus a little, making it easier to blend it all into a smooth consistency.
4. And as a last resort: Add more liquid, either in the form of water, olive or sesame oil, lemon juice or tahini (sesame butter).

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: –
Total time: 10 mins
Yield:

Ingredients
400 gram cooked chickpeas
3 red bell peppers, roasted*
juice and zest of 1 lemon
60 gram toasted sesame seeds or 60 gram tahini
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons paprika powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves garlic
salt to taste

* roast red peppers on a grill until the smell is sweet and fragrant and burn marks start to appear. If you want to roast them in your oven, that is also possible. Just preheat it as hot as possible and roast for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the edges start to brown slightly.

Instructions
1. Heat the cooked chickpeas for a few seconds in the microwave or in some hot water, until they are lukewarm.
2. Put all the ingredients in a powerful food processor or blender and blend until the hummus has reached your desired consistency. If this is not the case, let it blend for a couple more minutes or take a look at the tips posted in this blogpost.

Nutritional information per tablespoon (15 gram)
40 kcals
2.0 gram fat
4.5 gram carbs
of which 1.4 gram fiber and 0.9 gram sugar
1.4 gram protein