Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Healthy fats.  I love them.  Unhealthy fats, well I like them just fine too and that's part of the reason I'm on a diet right now.  But this great diet I'm on, (read more about it here and here) allows me to enjoy some healthy fats each week.  By Friday, I'm dreaming of olive oil, avocados, salmon and hummus.  I do love hummus and the best I've ever had was in Israel.  Gosh, that was good hummus.  I suppose it's a good thing I liked it, because it was served with pretty much every meal.  

You can buy some really good hummus in the stores these days, but it's so easy to make yourself, that I rarely do.  I like to have control over my ingredients and the quantity that I make.  Do I want to make a little, or a lot?  And, it's much less expensive to make your own, even after you buy the tahini, which isn't cheap, but lasts a long time and will make lots of hummus. 

These are the ingredients that I used to make this roasted red pepper hummus.  You can omit the peppers if you'd rather have the plain version, or you could add other ingredients in place of the pepper, like spinach or olives.  There are lots of possibilities and this basic recipe is fun to experiment with.

I drained and rinsed the garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas) and put them into the food processor.

I juiced several lemons,

and rough chopped my garlic.  The food processor will do most of the work here.

Tahini is a sesame seed paste, having the consistency of a natural peanut butter. The oils will separate and you'll have to stir before using. This goes into the bowl with the other ingredients.

I used one and a half peppers, again, just rough chopping.  Then I  blended it all up in the food processor, adding a little drizzle of olive oil at the very end.  It seems to give the hummus a creamier texture, which I like.

Ta-dah!  So Yummy...

Hummus

1 -16oz. can of drained and rinsed chickpeas

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 T. tahini

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

salt to taste

 drizzle of olive oil

Puree until smooth, adding olive oil at the end.

Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.  More juice?

More garlic? More salt?  However you like it.

Serve with veggies, on wraps, or with warm pita bread.

All delicious options.