Quick Red Pepper Hummus

Quick Red Pepper Hummus

This is the last reminder that a new blog group has formed, and each Friday, beginning this Friday June 15^th, we will blog a recipe from Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients —a book from Martha Stewart and the editors of Whole Living Magazine (Dec 28, 2010). Blog about your own recipe, or choose one from the book. If you are interested, contact me at Mireya(at)myhealthyeatinghabits.com. Join us for the fun! (This is the correct address.)

This week for The Food Matters Project, the host chose Braised Chickpea Fritters with Vegetables from Mark Bittman’s The Food Matters Cookbook. Being here in Arizona with 110°, it sounded too much like a winter dish, so I decided to do quick red pepper hummus. Not too long ago I was over at my brother’s house for dinner and I watched him make a quick hummus from powdered chickpeas. He bought it at his local food coop and it had some spices already mixed in. He just had to add olive oil and lemon juice. As you can imagine, the flavor was not as good as hummus made from scratch, but I thought it could be improved upon. It is a good alternative, and a quick way to make hummus without resorting to canned beans. Sunflower Market in Tempe carries a similar dried chickpea mix in the bulk section of the store, and you should be able to find a product in your area. It didn’t come with instructions, so I experimented my way through the recipe. After mixing one part water to one part mix I quickly realize it would take twice the amount of liquid, and with a few more flavoring ingredients the result was quite tasty. The recipe below is the final result of my little experiment. Note* – The texture improves if you allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. Don’t forget to check out Lena’s site at MrsGarlicHead where you will find Mark Bittman’s original recipe for braised chickpea fritters with vegetables.

Servings: 4 to 6

Prep Time: 10 to 15 minutes

Yield: 2-1/2 to 3 cups

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup hummus mix (available in bulk at many health food stores)

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 tablespoons tahini

2 cloves garlic

1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 to 1 whole roasted red bell pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. Place the garlic and the red pepper flakes in the food processor and process until the garlic is finely minced.

2. Add the 1 cup chickpea hummus powder,  1-1/2 cup water, 3  tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1-1/2 tablespoon tahini, the roasted pepper, salt, and process until it is smooth. Add more lemon juice or water if necessary.

To Serve: cut up some veggies and pita bread and place them on a plate surrounding the serving bowl.

This recipe is also posted at the Pennywise Platter.

Updated June 11th to correct the amount of water.