Easy Red Pepper Hummus for Food Friday

Hummus is expensive to buy but really easy to make at home for less than half the cost.  If you don't like peppers, skip them for easy plain hummus!

Red Pepper Hummus

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 clove garlic, crushed or I prefer ¼ tsp powdered garlic.
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 roasted red or green pepper- store bought or make yourself (instructions below)- cut 3 small slivers of pepper off and save for a garnish. Leave peppers out for regular plain hummus!
  

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor or  blender and blend until the hummus is as smooth or as chunky as you would like. Place in a serving bowl and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil or a couple of thin strips of the roasted red pepper. I serve hummus with baked Pita chips, carrots, celery and other vegetables. It's great in a lunchbox or for a snack as well.

• I always have a can of garbanzo beans in my pantry because, with or without the peppers, this is a quick appetizer for unexpected company.

How to Roast Peppers

Select a heat source. Peppers are best roasted over a live fire, such as a gas burner or a charcoal or gas grill but you can just as easily use a broiler.

Broiler Instructions:

• Turn the heat source to High or the broiler turned on to Max to pre-heat. 
• Cut the pepper in half and remove the core, veins, and seeds. Coat the pepper with some vegetable oil or olive oil and place the cut sides down on a foil covered broiler pan 
• Broil for 5 to 7 minutes until the skin is all blackened. Remove pan from oven. 

Stove top instructions:

• Turn gas burner to high
  
• Take a whole, uncut pepper. Use metal tongs or a long metal skewer, to hold the directly over and in the flame of the burner or as close to the heat source as possible.  
• Rotate the pepper as the skin closest to the heat blackens and blisters until the entire pepper is blackened.

Place the blackened pepper into a glass or heatproof bowl and cover it tightly. This allows the pepper to steam. You can also place the peppers into a paper bag and seal.

Allow the peppers to sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and take the pepper out. Scrape off and discard all of the blackened skin. If the pepper is whole,  remove the core, veins, and seeds before using.

• I usually do 3 or 4 at a time and then freeze the ones I don't need at that moment so that I have some ready to go without any work.