Hummus

I love hummus, but it is so pricey, and here in Italy it is hard to find at my grocer. We have a few brands of each product on the shelf. Most "ethnic" foods are few and far between. So in order to indulge, you have to make your own.

In order to make this hummus recipes, I used the homemade tahini I made here. You don't have to use tahini, but it gives it the underlying nutty and more authentic flavor or hummus that I crave. I made roasted red bell pepper hummus BUT hummus is like a blank canvas, if you know how to make the plain version, adding to it has limitless possibilities.

Basic Hummus Ingredients

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (approx one large lemon)

2 cloves garlic, minced

15-16 oz can chickpeas, rinsed (or you can use dried*)

2-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Paprika

Black pepper

Salt

Add lemon juice. Tahini, garlic, and chickpeas to food processor. Drizzle in olive oil, one TBSP at a time until smooth. Season to taste with sale and pepper. Sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with a bit of olive oil to serve.

For the roasted red bell pepper hummus, the only thing that changed was the fact that I added ingredients, upped my garlic, included paprika in my mixture, and used a bit more olive oil, salt, and pepper to season.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus Ingredients

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (approx one large lemon)

1/2 bulb garlic, minced

6oz roasted red bell pepper (or 1 small roasted red bell pepper)

2 TBSP jalapeño slices (or 1 jalapeño, diced, seeds removed)

1 TBSP celery green pesto (or 1 handful parsley or cilantro**, chopped)

15-16 oz can chickpeas, rinsed (or you can use dried*)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/2 TBSP Paprika, plus more for serving

Black pepper

Salt

Combine tahini, lemon juice, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeño slices, pesto, chickpeas, and paprika in food processor. Drizzle in olive oil until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkle of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.

*if using dried garbanzo beans! be sure to soak overnight, boil until tender, and then add to food processor.

**celery greens resemble parsley. If you prefer cilantro to parsley you can substitute.