Roasted Garlic Hummus

Hummus. In two seconds, you can have 681,000 recipes at your fingertips. At least that's what happened when I put "Hummus Recipe" in Google. I'm sure some of these results aren't actual recipes, but you get the point. By the way, the first result had this line in the teaser: "Everything you ever wanted to know about hummus but were afraid to ask!" Really? Last I checked, hummus wasn't exactly freaky weird or anything.

Ok, so why should you make this recipe when there are so many available? Two things: 1) This one's on my food blog and 2) It's by Martha Stewart. I'm still searching for my perfect hummus recipe, but this one is pretty good. It's simple to put together, and it tastes even better the day after you make it. So quit paying big money for pre-made hummus at the store, and stretch your culinary muscle. 

 

Roasted Garlic Hummus

chefjennylyn.com

3 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil

19 oz. chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp. sesame tahini

3 tbsp. water

1 tsp. coarse salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place garlic cloves on a small piece of foil, and lightly drizzle with 1 tsp. olive oil. Seal foil to form a pouch, and roast garlic in oven until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove the garlic from the oven, and allow it to cool slightly. Peel and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Add the chickpeas, and process until finely chopped.

Add lemon juice, sesame tahini, water, salt, cayenne pepper, and 1 tbsp. olive oil to food processor. Process until mixture is light and fluffy but not entirely smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl, and serve with crudites. You know, crudites.

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Note: This is a Martha Stewart recipe, but I changed it. She wants you to add 1/4 cup fresh chives, but I say no, thanks. I did, however, keep her suggestion to serve with crudites.

It's kind of fun to roast garlic. I don't have much to say about this step, but I did note that getting roasted garlic on your fingers isn't as detrimental to your aroma as fresh garlic. I'd suggest trying to avoid it, but you don't have to get a sinking feeling of no one-will-ever-want-to-be-around-me-again-because-I-stink.

This recipe calls for 19 oz. of chickpeas (garbonzo beans), but I haven't ever seen a 19-oz. can. My solution? Regular can while keeping everything else the same. Hi, I'm Jenny, and I live on the edge. Notice the Smooth-Edge Can Opener taking the lid to town. This thing is going to come off clean, leaving no sharp edges and no gross lid/food contact situation. Oh, and it's not going to allow food to crust up my can opener.

Give the beans a good draining using the Can Strainer. Oh, my goodness, how handy this thing is! I seriously adore the can drainer, a simple cap that keeps me from dirtying a colander every time I'm working with beans, artichoke hearts, etc. Mine's pink, but yours will be white. Sorry.

Talk about an awkward picture! This seems "off" somehow, but I'm still using it. Ok, so I have salt in a Pinch Bowl, pepper in an Adjustable Measuring Spoon, tahini in the Measure-All Cup, and the Cutting Board acting as a recipe base. That't the Classic Scraper covered in tahini, and drained chickpeas are hanging out in a Small Square Bowl from the Simple Additions Collection. This pattern is no longer available, but you get the gist. Hey, look at that smooth can there!

Lemons are a kitchen staple because they add flavor to so many recipes. Fresh lemon juice takes a lot of things from being ok to being restaurant quality, so keep these on hand at all times. I cut mine with the 5" Utility Knife from the Forged Cutlery Collection, and I'm squeezing them to death using the Citrus Press. I've got the juice in an Easy Read Measuring Cup, my favorite measuring tool of all time, and everything's about to come together in a food processor.

If you've never made your own hummus, this is a great recipe to start. Tahini is a little pricey, so I'd go in planning to make it more than once. I have yet to find a brand that tastes as good as any of the recipes I've made myself, so I find tahini a worthy investment.

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