A Taste of Egypt: Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus

I'm slightly obsessed with Hummus, and have on occasion gone to the supermarket here with the sole intention of buying multiple tubs of it. So you can imagine my delight when I finally decided to purchase a blender here and embark on the process of making my own hummus. It was enormously successful, absolutely delicious, and a recipe that I will certainly be turning to again in the future. Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, quick and easy, and beautiful on sandwiches with some tomatoes, or as a side dish for any meal.

So here's what you'll need: 

2 cups dry chick peas

2 roasted red bell peppers

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

juice of half of a lemon

3 tbsp tahina

2-3 garlic cloves (or garlic flakes)

½ cup water (more if necessary)

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

4 tsps extra virgin olive oil for bell peppers

1 tbsp ground cumin

Note: You can use canned chickpeas and if you're short on time this is the ideal alternative. However I would really recommend for superior taste and quality hummus to use fresh chickpeas. 

Directions: 

1. Soak your fresh chickpeas in a large bowl of water, ensuring the water sits roughly an inch over the chickpeas and allow to soak overnight. 

2. The next morning, drain your chickpeas and place into a large pot. Cover with water, add the salt and baking soda. Bring to a boil. 

3. Once boiling, reduce heat to a rolling boil. Cook chickpeas for approximately an hour. 

4. In the meantime, slice your red bell peppers. Stick on a roasting pan lined with aluminium foil. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in your oven using the broiler setting for approximately 30-40 minutes. Turn about half way through to ensure an even roasting. 

5. When your peppers and chickpeas are cooked, let both cool to room temperature. 

6. Combine your chickpeas, peppers, olive oil, lemon, garlic, cumin and tahina into a blender. On a slow speed allow to blend together. Slowly add water to bring your hummus to your desired consistency, personally I like mine almost the consistency of porridge. ;) 

7. You can sprinkle a little bit of extra cumin / black pepper on the top to garnish when serving. 

Bil Hana Wa Shiva!