Yummy Hummus

I love hummus! It’s a great, high-protein snack or dinner, and it is a good spread to have on hand for lunches throughout the week.

Ingredients

1 can of garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained

1-2 tablespoons of tahini (sesame seed butter –I found it at Giant Eagle)

1 whole garlic bulb, roasted*

1 large lemon

1 4.5 oz can of chopped green chilies

1 cup of coarsely chopped carrot

½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, plus additional for garnish

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions

*To roast a garlic bulb:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the top of the garlic (opposite the stem end), to expose the tops of the garlic cloves. Place bulb in a garlic roaster (small crock-type device, which I do not own...yet) or place on a doubled piece of foil. Drizzle top lightly with olive oil and seal up with foil. Roast for 35 minutes. Remove foil and allow to cool until easy to handle. Garlic cloves should now be soft and creamy, and you can just squeeze the garlic from the bottom of each clove's skin. Flavor is enhanced, yet it has less of that raw garlic bite.

To make hummus:

In food processor fitted with the “S” blade, place garbanzo beans, dash of salt (optional), 1 tablespoon of tahini, 3-6 roasted garlic cloves (or more, if you like!), chilies, carrot, ½ teaspoon of paprika, and juice of ½ of the lemon (to extract as much juice as possible, roll the lemon on your counter before cutting it). Place lid on processor and turn it to “on” (not pulse), to combine everything well.

While processing, drizzle some olive oil in the top (about a tablespoon or so). After everything is combined, check the consistency. (I prefer my hummus similar in texture to pudding, some like it more runny—add more olive oil or water to get the texture you desire.)

If it isn't creamy enough, add more tahini. If it tastes too nutty (from the tahini) add a little more of the juice from the second half of the lemon, then pulse a few times and taste again. Add a dash more salt, if necessary, and pepper, as desired; pulse a few more times to combine well.

Once the taste and consistency are to your liking, put the hummus in a sealable container, sprinkle with paprika, and refrigerate until serving.

This is great slathered on unleavened bread, topped with sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced red onion, and crumbled feta cheese, and yogurt sauce. It is also great as a dip for veggies.