RECIPE: Chickpea, Spinach, Red Pepper and Harissa Hummus Dip

I think this is the best "hummus" I've ever made!   And, it was easy!

Wikipedia defines hummus as "a Middle Eastern dip made with cooked mashed chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic," which my "hummus" certainly is but I also, almost always, add additional spices and cooked vegetables - arugula, roasted broccoli, eggplant, tomato paste, pesto, Thai chile paste, or curry.  

There are several other recipes for hummus on this blog: parsnip, chard stalk, and super smooth with multiple seasoning options.  Recently, I've been seasoning it with berbere, an Ethopian spice mixture, but my FAVORITE flavor is spinach, roasted red peppers, and harissa. 

Pimiento peppers make the tastiest roasted peppers so, this summer, my husband grew them for me.  I roasted them, peeled them, and then froze them. If you can't get pimientos, use red bell peppers.

In the fall, when the farm store is full of spinach, I blanch, chop, and freeze as much as I can!  So, for me, this comes together with things I have in my freezer.  If you plan ahead, it can for you, too!

To make harissa, I use hot peppers that I've dehydrated and ground.  For this recipe, I used cayenne, which is about 35,000 on the Skoville scale, or middle of the road heat-wise.  If you can't tolerate spicy, make it with sweet paprika so you'll get all the other flavors in the condiment.

One thing I did differently this time was to use the entire lemon pulp, not just the juice.  I don't know if that's why it tasted so good but I'll be doing that from now one since there's less waste.

Chickpea, Spinach, Red Pepper and Harissa Hummus Dip

Makes about 3 cups.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 whole organic lemons, scrubbed, zested, peeled and seeds removed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. well-stirred tahini
• 1 29-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and 1/2 cup of liquid reserved
• 4 t. harissa made with cayenne
• 1-2 t. himalayan pink salt
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
• 4oz blanched spinach (weigh after blanching and squeezing out liquid), chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

Squeeze the lemons over the bowl on a food processor or blender, then drop in the pulp.

Add the minced garlic and let it sit in the juice for 5-10 minutes to tame the flavor.

Add the tahini, chickpeas, 1/2 cup of chickpea liquid, 2 teaspoons harissa, and 1 t. salt.  Process for a looooong time, until it's very smooth.

Taste and add more harissa and/or salt.  I used 4 t. harissa because we like spicy.

Add the roasted red peppers and spinach and pulse until distributed.

Taste and adjust harissa and salt.

Stir in the lemon zest and enjoy.   

I love this with sliced carrots.  My husband uses Mary's Gone Crackers or cassava chips.