Hummus and Jack.

Who says I never take you to interesting places? Well in this instance this photo was taken in Cardiff back in 2008 as I was knocking around Europe for a bit. And right now I can imagine many Dr. Who/Torchwood fans squee-ing realizing where I might have been.

Anyways, on with today's recipe, I'm pulling out a classic veggie dish that I learned while overseas, a very simple hummus that is fantastic when eaten on crackers, toast, or pita bread!

Spicy Hummus

Tools:
Heavy Bowl with something to mash down the chickpeas.
Spoon.
Foil.
Can opener.
Smaller microwavable bowl.
Knife and Cutting Board
A lid for the heavy bowl or plastic wrap

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon cumin
good olive oil
1 heaping spoonful of tahini sauce (sesame seed sauce you can find in good supermarkets)
1 spicy pepper of your choice
a squeeze of lemon juice

This dish is easy to make and the , especially if you like to cook things ahead of time. Warm the oven to 350 degrees. Chop the pepper into large chunks, and add the garlic to the middle of a piece of foil (taking the "paper" off of the garlic). Cover in olive oil and pull the edges of the foil up to seal all the flavors inside. Pop the foil bundle into the oven for five minute increments until the garlic starts to brown slightly and your kitchen smells fantastic.

While this is cooking, drain the excess liquid from the chickpeas and pour them into the microwavable bowl. Nuke the chickpeas for a minute to help soften the peas. Pour the chickpeas into the larger bowl.

When the peppers and garlic are done, add them to the bowl with the chickpeas. Add in the tahini sauce to the large bowl (the tahini sauce is a natural substance that has a higher oil content, you might need to stir the oil and seeds back together in the jar with a long metal spoon. So if it looks like there's a line of oil at the top of the sauce, just mix it. I will also just flip the jar every month or so the oil will remix with the seeds as it floats to the top). Mash the mixture into a fine paste. Stir in the cumin to the mixture. Then pour and mix in olive oil until the mixture becomes creamy. Squeeze some lemon juice over the top of the mixture, cover, and then store in the fridge for an hour so all the flavors can mix.

Serve either cool or at room temperature. This side can be kept for about three days in the fridge.

Bien Camino!