Today's easy appetizer recipe: A pretty chickpea and roasted red pepper hummus. Such pretty color! Low Carb. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. After ten days and ten inches of rain and record flooding, on Friday the sun finally made a much-
... which got me to digging around in the pantry for "summer food," the stuff that's so easy it almost makes itself, the stuff that as easily fuels a quick snack as somehow contributes to supper. Say hello to my latest hummus, this one a pretty pale hue of red, color-wise, as welcome as sunshine compared to my otherwise wonderful signature hummus, the Crazy-Smooth Crazy-Good Hummus and even the stuff-there's-no-getting-enough-of, the Roasted Eggplant “Hummus" (Eggplant & Chickpea Dip & Spread).
All three versions of hummus are extra-smooth thanks in part to the way I cook chickpeas especially for hummus, How to Cook Dried Chickpeas Especially for Hummus aka "Jerusalem Chickpeas". But this last time I made Red Pepper Hummus? No home-cooked chickpeas were ready to go so I pulled out a can of chickpeas and there was hummus in a few minutes, slightly rougher in texture but equally habit-forming.
So is cooking your own chickpeas recommended? Yes. But can you get away with canned chickpeas. Yes, thank our lucky
This recipe is so quick and easy that I'm adding it to a growing collection of easy summer recipes published all summer long since 2009 at Kitchen Parade, my food column. With a free Kitchen Parade e-mail subscription, you'll never miss a one!