Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

The Middle Eastern dip called hummus is no longer exotic to many Americans.  Like bagels, sushi, and quiche, hummus has entered mainstream grocery or specialty food stores.  It’s in a refrigerated section of the store, hopefully from a local producer, often with a label that looks like it comes from a small company but is actually from a major food conglomerate, and sometimes in multiple brands.  The primary ingredients of “original” hummus are chickpeas (a/k/a garbanzo beans), tahini (ground sesame paste), lemon juice, and salt.  It is often spiced with garlic, ground cumin, and sometimes cayenne or ground red (hot) pepper. 

An easy snack/appetizer and a wonderful, quick lunch, hummus has been a staple in our house for years.  I always used to make my own, no longer do so routinely because I have found good and reasonably priced, hummus.  I’m all about homemade when it makes sense, but when I can buy good, all-natural, prepared food for less than I can make it myself, I don’t make homemade a matter of principle.  

Last weekend I offered to bring hummus, vegetables and homemade pita chips to a baseball playoff party.  After “doctoring” store-bought hummus - by adding lemon juice and a bit of water to make the hummus thinner and smoother, I had a brainstorm.  To half of the “original” hummus, I added a roasted red pepper and a bit of smoky, sweet paprika.  After letting it sit refrigerated for a couple of hours, the flavors melded together for quite a nice variation on the hummus theme.   Although I could buy roasted red pepper hummus, I decided that this not-quite-homemade recipe is better and the right compromise for me between “from scratch” and bought-off–the-grocery-shelf.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Servings – 1 ¼ cup for 6-8 as an appetizer.  Cost - $4 total

Ingredients

• 1 cup of prepared “original”/chick pea-type hummus
• 1 large red pepper, roasted
• ¼ teaspoon smoky, sweet Spanish paprika (Optional – substitute Hungarian sweet paprika if you don’t have the Spanish type. I prefer the Spanish because it is smoky as well as sweet.  Actually paprika is not sweet, but that term is used to distinguish it from hot paprika, which has quite a kick.)

Equipment (not including the tongs and paper bag for roasting the pepper)

• Cutting board
• Knife
• 1-cup measure
• Measuring spoons
• Small bowl
• Small food processor, immersion blender, or other chopper 
• Strainer
• Spatula or large spoon

 Preparation

1. Roast the pepper.
2. Cut the stem off the pepper and take out the seeds and white part on the inside.
3. Cut the roasted pepper into strips or pieces and mash them into a pulp.
4. Put the cup of hummus in the bowl and strain the roasted red pepper pulp over the hummus, pressing it through the strainer with a spatula or the back of a spoon.  Discard the pulp that remains in the strainer.  Resist the temptation to skip this step - without straining you can't get a smooth texture, even if you finely mash or grind the roasted pepper. 
5. Add the paprika and mix.
6. Refrigerate the mixture, covered, for 1-2 hours to give the flavors time to meld together.
7. Serve as a dip with pita bread, pita chips, and/or cut up vegetables.