Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

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© Paden Reich

I began making my own hummus about 20 years ago and have not stopped. Why? It’s a consistent winner. Whenever I have my book group over, for instance, I make hummus and serve it with crudités. The big question among my friends is what flavor I’ll make. Over the years I have used roasted carrots, garlic, artichoke, and avocado, but here I have chosen my favorite, roasted red pepper. It’s easy to make as I always have tahini in the fridge and chickpeas in the pantry, the main ingredients. Add olive oil and red peppers, and then let the food processor do all the work. It’s creamy, with a mild red pepper flavor and a hint of garlic that you can adjust by seasoning to taste.

I serve with carrots, celery, radishes, and pita chips; because I’m a nut about utilizing leftovers, any extra hummus can be spread on a turkey sandwich in place of mayonnaise or mustard.

Instructions

1. Process the chickpeas, roasted red peppers, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor until the chickpeas are chopped, about 6 times.

2. With the processor running, pour the olive oil through the food chute, and process until a smooth paste forms.

3. Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with pepper, and serve with the pita chips, celery sticks, carrots sticks, radishes, green beans, and snow peas.

Ingredient Note

This can be made up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge if you’re in party prep mode.

Ingredients

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained
3 tablespoons tahini
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons olive oil Freshly ground black pepper
Pita chips, celery sticks, carrot sticks, halved radishes, green beans, snow peas