Spicy Hummus

One thing I've always noticed we spend a fair bit of money on is hummus.  So we instituted a new policy in our home - from now on, homemade hummus!  The first time we did it was a recipe from the Joy of Cooking that came out a little lemony for my taste.  So over the weekend I had some time on my hands and I tried to make a "spicy hummus" because my favorite brand is spicy.  It turned out pretty well.

Tools:

Food Processor

Ingredients:

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons of tahini paste

3 hot cherry peppers, seeds and stem removed

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/4 cup of water

2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

Paprika and Olive Oil for garnish

What to do:

Put all the ingredients except the garnish into the food processor and puree till smooth!  

Then garnish with the paprika and olive oil as desired.  

It will taste best after a night in the refrigerator to let all the flavors mingle - the taste difference between immediately after blending and the next day is huge, so give it the night to rest.

Chickpeas in a can are nice and cheap.  The tahini paste will run you $5 to $6 a jar, but you only use a bit at a time so it will last for a long time. The hot cherry peppers you can get in a variety of ways - I got them in a jar of about 10 for $4, and I have been using them in a variety of ways including as a pizza topping, which is a subject for another entry!

Overall you end up with about twice as much hummus as a $4 to $5 tub at a much reduced cost, plus the satisfaction of having made it from scratch yourself.  It's a habit that I will definitely be in from now on, cause it's a great snack to have around.