Simple Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

My vegan/vegetarianism has hummus being a staple of my diet.  It is packed with flavor while adding quite a bit of protein.  I mostly eat it as the base of a sandwich with avocados, tomatoes, sprouts/cabbage (if handy), and salt and pepper.  Yum!

Warning: I eye-ball everything and prepare things according to taste.  So the following measurements are mostly guesstimates.  Adapt it to your own liking.

Also note:  I usually use freshly cooked garbanzo beans/chick peas.  They taste 10x better.  But when you don't have time to sit around for 3-4 hours while they cook (because I didn't on Sunday), canned beans work just as nice.

Here's what you need:

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans or a little more than 2 cups of freshly cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2-3/4 cup tahini (think peanut butter but with sesame seeds)
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained (I opt for the more peppers the better.  J agrees)
2-4 cloves garlic (depending on how snuggly you plan to be later), chopped/minced depending on how good your food processor is
1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp freshly ground pepper
and a little less than 2 Tbl tamari (or substitute soy sauce) -- this is my secret ingredient :)
less than 1/2 cup of water to thin the hummus out while processing.

Place all ingredients (except the water) in a food processor.  Add water slowly, and blend until you reach the desired consistency.

I prefer my hummus kind of thick and chunky.  I can't have it pouring out the sides of my sammy at lunch time.

That's it.  Super simple.  Garnish it with some pine nuts, olive oil, and a sprinkle of paprika.

The hummus keeps in the refrigerator for at least a week.  We go through ours pretty quickly.  The humus will thicken with time, so just add small parts of water to it and stir, and you should be fine.  When olive oil gets cold, it hardens.  So setting the hummus out before consuming will likely help your consistency, too.

All hummus recipes vary.  My mother prefers lemon juice instead of the tamari.  I've tried one that adds apple cider vinegar... and that just tasted weird to me.

Variations:  You can substitute the roasted red peppers with a combination of any of the following:  edamame, jalepenos, or artichokes.  My favorite combination involves replacing one can (or equivalent to) of the garbanzo beans for cannelini beans and instead of roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts.  The cannelini beans have a creamier consistency.  But the variation above is J's favorite, it is often made more often.  :)


Another variation note:  If you do not use roasted red peppers, you will likely need to up the olive oil.  Use your judgment.

Enjoy!  Let me know if you like it or have any suggestions.

-Kate