Monday, April 15, 2013

Red Pepper Hummus from PW Pizza


My penchant for roasted red peppers is well known. I always have an open jar in the fridge (as you saw here) and an extra jar (or two) in the pantry. As I type this I have thin slices of seared strip steak in the crockpot along with sliced onions, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers yielding, I hope, a delicious dinner of pepper steak this evening, and a tasty filling for soft tacos tomorrow night. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.

I'm a fan of hummus, but not the plain garlic-tahini-and-chickpea variety. No, I like hummus with a sense of style. My two favorites are fresh basil hummus and roasted red pepper hummus (a lovely duo on the holiday sideboard, by the way). As a rule, hummus is very easy to make. Keeping some simple ingredients on hand will never leave you wanting when guests drop by, or you're invited on the spur of the moment and don't want to arrive empty handed.

This recipe is from PW Pizza in the Lafayette Square neighborhood of St. Louis, and was published recently in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It is easy to prepare and oh, so delicious. It's a great dip, but also makes an excellent sandwich spread, adds great taste to deviled eggs, and brightens up even the simplest of salads when stirred into Ranch dressing. I like mine extra smoky and with a lot of zing so doubled up on both cumin and lemon zest. Yummy!

Red Pepper Hummus from PW Pizza
Yield: 2 1/4 cups

2 (15-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (colored portion of peel)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Ground red (cayenne) pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
Warm pita wedges or fresh vegetables, for serving

1. Cut a few strips of roasted red pepper to use for a garnish; set aside.
2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the remaining roasted red peppers, garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, black pepper, cumin and a dash or two of cayenne. Pulse to chop and combine ingredients. With the motor running, slowly add the oil through the feed tube, processing just until combined. Stop the processor to scrape the sides as necessary.

3. To serve, mound hummus on a platter. Top with feta cheese and reserved red pepper strips, then surround with warm pita wedges or fresh vegetables.

Per 1/4 cup serving: 175 calories; 5g fat; 1g saturated fat; 2mg cholesterol; 6g protein; 26g carbohydrate; noa sugar; 4g fiber; 465mg sodium; 50mg calcium.

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5 comments:

  1. It's funny that you should mention hummus and even have a recipe for it which sounds delicious. I just finished eating some artichoke and spinach humus. It was SO good, and yours sounds even better.

    XO,

    Sheila

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  2. A girl after my own heart. I love roasted red peppers too. I'm going to make this for lunch on Saturday.

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  3. I'd love to pin this. Do you have a Pinterest button?

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  4. I would have to say that I usually just eat the garlic hummus - but this looks fabulous!! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. This looks SO good! Thanks for linking up with "Try a New Recipe Tuesday!" I hope you can join us again this week. :-)

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Thank you so much for commenting, I love every one of them! I am, however, unable to respond to anonymous comments.