Summer is coming, so is our Roasted Red Pepper Hummus! This is a perfect side dish to serve for family and friend gatherings. It's a perfect finger-food style dish, fresh and tastes delicious. As well as being vegan and gluten-free, so you can please everyone!
When we cook hummus, I have to force myself to not eat the whole thing in one go. I love chickpeas and the same goes for hummus. We love serving it as a side dish with our delicious baba ganoush, homemade pita bread, beetroot salad, rosemary potato wedges, and homemade falafels. That's a proper meal!
We have been making hummus with different ingredients and so far, roasted red pepper is our favourite one. Roasted pepper gives your hummus a slightly sweet flavour and a vibrant colour. As much as we like the classic hummus, like this creamy traditional Lebanese Hummus, this pepper hummus is heavenly.
If you have been buying hummus at the store because you think it's too much time and effort to make your own, you will be surprised to know how easy it is to make it at home. All you need are a few simple ingredients and a food processor or hand blender:
- Chickpeas. Soak overnight dry chickpeas and cook them before using them for the hummus or use canned/jar chickpeas. We buy organic jarred chickpeas and we love the flavour. Make sure you use good quality chickpeas as it makes a huge difference in the taste of your hummus.
- Red peppers. The best peppers for this recipe are Italian red peppers (long and thin red peppers). They are sweeter, more flavourful and deliver a delightful taste to your recipes. If you cannot find them you can also use red bell pepper. We roast the peppers ourselves but to speed up the cooking time, you can use jarred red peppers.
- Tahini. Sesame seed paste, that's all tahini is. This paste will give your hummus a delicious tangy flavour. Some people are not a fan of tahini, and you can always reduce the amount of tahini or leave it out of your hummus if that is the case.
- Smoked paprika. For this recipe, we use smoked paprika to get a smoky flavour but here comes the fun part of your hummus, you can use other spices to give your dish a slightly different taste. Cumin works excellent too.
- Lemon juice. Use fresh lemon juice if possible.
- Olive oil. For your hummus, you want to use the best olive oil you have at home. We love using our friend's olive oil that he gets from his olive trees, the flavour is incredible. When you live in Spain, you cannot cook with cheap flavourless olive oil, that could be considered a crime.
- Garlic. The garlic cloves are uncooked so if you are not a big fan of that raw garlicky taste, use half a garlic clove or consider leaving it out. If you love your garlic, then the more the merrier!
The perfect way to serve your hummus
Some would say the presentation is as important as the taste of your dish, especially if you have guests or you want to bring your dish to a party or family dinner. Pour the hummus into a nice bowl, use the back of a spoon and move in a circular motion from the centre of the bowl to the edge. Add a sprinkle of smoked paprika on the top and some extra olive oil. You can also save some chickpeas and red pepper to decorate the hummus. We love adding some chopped fresh cilantro on the top too. It makes your side dish look fresher!
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 Italian red pepper
- 500 g chickpeas cooked
- 1-2 garlic cloves crushed
- ¼ cup tahini
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the pepper in the oven for 10 minutes or until it's completely soft. After it's cooked take it out and place in a sealed container. Leave it while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Alternatively, use jarred roasted red pepper.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add to the food processor. Add the crushed garlic, tahini, lemon juice, smoked paprika, olive oil and salt.
- Remove the skin from the red pepper and add to the food processor.
- Blend all ingredients until you have a smooth consistency. Add a little cold water if it's too thick and keep adding it a little at a time to get your desired consistency.
- Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes and serve with extra virgin olive oil or chilli oil on top.
Looking for more hummus recipes? Check this delicious Beetroot Hummus!
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