I’ve liked hummus from the moment I swiped my first pita chip through it many years ago. But my affection for this flavorful mashed chickpea goodness intensified after our family traveled to Egypt, where the earliest form of hummus is believed to have originated in medieval times. Visiting my sister’s family in Cairo was an experience of a lifetime, where we were introduced to more than we could have ever imagined, including the extraordinary tastes and scents of Middle Eastern foods…so simple, yet so intense and powerful.
I had never made my own hummus until recently. It’s just so convenient to pick up a tub at the store. Right?! But I kept hearing people talk about how easy it was to make, and how much better it tasted. So I set myself up for my favorite flavored hummus…roasted red pepper. I roasted a whole head of garlic, making it soft and buttery and fragrant, and added it, along with roasted red peppers, to the typical hummus ingredients of chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice. Then I kicked it up a bit, like I remembered from our trip to Egypt, adding some chipotle pepper, paprika, and plenty of earthy warm cumin. And now I have my own easy and delicious go-to hummus recipe, steeped in tasty travel memories…Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus.
As I was preparing to make this hummus, our girls were going through our Shutterfly book from our trip to Egypt, reminiscing. When we came across this photo of a man selling pitas at the local souk (open-air marketplace in an Arab city), just a couple blocks from where my sister’s family lived, I knew I had to make some to go with our hummus. I turned to my bookshelf and “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”, by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg, to show me the way.
Do you know Zoe? She’s the uber talented pastry chef behind Zoe Bakes, and another local Minnesota lovely. Her smile and beautiful energy can seriously light up the whole room.
Here are a few more pictures from the souk my sister’s family frequented. I just can’t tell you how wonderful all the vegetables and fruits tasted. We still talk about those incredible cucumbers. They were just so “cucumbery”, the latest word in my personal food dictionary!
If you’re looking for a great dish to serve with this hummus and pita, be sure to check out my fattoush salad!
Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 2 T. olive oil
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 15- oz. can chickpeas garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ c. coarsely chopped bottled roasted red sweet peppers
- ⅓ c. tahini
- 3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ tsp. ground chipotle pepper
- 2 tsp. cumin
- ⅛ tsp. paprika plus a little more for sprinkling over the finished dip
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp. freshly ground black pepper plus a little more for sprinkling over the finished dip
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F. Cut off the top quarter of the garlic bulb to expose the pulp of all the individual cloves (do not peel the cloves!). Lay out a double layer of foil and place the bulb in the center. Drizzle the olive oil over the exposed cloves, sprinkle with kosher salt, and then bring the sides of the foil up around it loosely and gently twist the top shut. Place your foil wrapped bulb on a pan and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes.
- Take it out of the oven and let it cool a bit before unwrapping. Then simply squeeze out the soft and buttery pulp and set aside.
- Set aside a tablespoon of chickpeas and a tablespoon of chopped red peppers for garnishing at the end. Then in a food processor or blender, combine the remaining chickpeas, roasted garlic pulp, remaining red peppers, tahini, lemon juice, chipotle pepper, cumin, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Process until the hummus is smooth.
- Spoon into a serving bowl and top with the reserved chickpeas and a sprinkling of paprika and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with pita wedges or crisps, assorted crackers, and/or a mixture of fresh cut vegetables.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Making your hummus today!
It looks good in the photo. I think I will like it because I want spicy foods and hummus too.
Looks fantastic! Can’t wait to try it.
Hope you like it! :)
I’m a bit behind in reading all my favorite blogs, but you have no idea how happy you made me with this recipe! I LOVE hummus and chick peas in general. Roasted red pepper is my fave variation, and you make it so approachable. Thanks for sharing your Egypt images and some background on that, too. Amazing! What an experience for the kids, too.
This really is a very approachable dip…way more simple & delicious than I imagined. I’m so happy I finally tried it! So nice to hear from you, Cindy! :)
What a beautiful recipe, Brenda!
Thank you, Robyn. :)
I love hummus (I just recently posted a roasted artichoke hummus)! Your photos from Egypt are all beautiful.
Thanks, Jen! Mmmmm…I haven’t done anything with artichokes in a very long time! ;)
I love hummus…and as i love red peppers too i think i’d love this version! Great recipe!…and my compliments for your blog!
Thank you so much, Terry!
Hi Brenda,
I love your blog since I discovered it a few months ago! Love your photos, you do a beautiful job! I too like hummus and I recently tried basil pesto hummus, which was delicious too. Just wonderful!
Fellow MN blogger,
Jen
Lovely to meet you, Jen! Thanks for saying hi. I love what you’re doing with getting kids in the garden!! :)
Ever since my brother-in-law had open heart surgery his Doctor’s told him to stop eating butter and margarine and to start using hummus instead. He discovered that he loves hummus and I’m sure my sister would love this recipe. Happy Easter Brenda!
I love hummus and cannot wait to give this a try!
Gorgeous photos! Makes me wish I was there. Hummus is always good!
Thanks, Kristy…it’s one of those trips that still doesn’t feel like it was real. We are so NOT world travelers (though I’d like to be!!), so it was a pretty incredible experience.
love this hummus and the travel pictures
Hi Rebecca – and thank you!
My favorite kind of hummus!
Mmm one of my favorite dips! Gotta love roasted reds…
Hummous is one of my favourite things. I love nothing more than getting a tub from the supermarket with some fresh bread and eating the whole lot. I did try and make my own hummous once but it had the consistency of cement and didn’t taste that great!
Time to try it again?! ;)
Thanks for sharing all these pictures. What an incredible adventure.
I’m a big fan of hummus too so I’m sure I’ll love this variation of it. Btw, I have the same bowl as you! Crate and Barrel, right? :)
Yes, C&B…one of my favorite places! ;)
Huge hummus fan! Yours looks fantastic and it’s making me hungry. :)
Thank you, Laurie. :)
Cool story, Brenda! I am a fan of hummus and I love hearing the back stories of foods that I love. This sounds so good!
Thanks, Cassie – Happy, Happy Easter to you!!
Wow – what an amazing adventure! Love the pictures and love this recipe.
It surely was an incredible trip, seems almost like a dream we were actually there. Thanks, Kristen!
Hi, I have been reading your blog for almost 6 months. I really like some of the recipes you share. This one looks like another that I will try. Have you ever tried Baba ghanoush? My kids love it, I just never told them what was in it…hehe.
Hi Kim, so nice to hear from you! I had baba ghanoush for the first time on this trip…loved it!