
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
I had a few people over last night for an open house. Thankfully it was a beautiful evening and we could sit on the patio and enjoy a gorgeous summer evening here in Kelowna. We had wine and Hors d’Oeuvres that I set out partly in the dining room and partly on the patio with coffee and dessert “station” on a wrought iron trolley also on the patio. I tried to have the small event catered but the two caterers I asked were busy and couldn’t do it. Left to my own resources I had some of the food prepared by a couple of places in town and made some myself. Valoroso, the local Italian food market on Sutherland and Burtch made small pizzas with different toppings such as roasted peppers, asparagus and artichokes.
For the non-vegetarian (I don’t impose my views on my guests) they made small Italian meatballs in tomato sauce as well as puff pastry twists with cheese and anchovies. Their food is very good and the flavours are authentic. Codfather, a seafood market in Guisachan Village (Gordon and Guisachan) made smoked salmon and dill rolls. My husband, who is not vegetarian, made lamb with bottled maple-chipotle sauce (Stonewall kitchen). We bought racks of lamb from L-D Meats and Deli in Guisachan Village and had them cut and Frenched for individual servings. The rest I did myself. I only cook vegetarian so I made a few simple things to spoon onto sliced baguettes: Mediterranean antipasto with eggplants, zucchini and roasted red peppers was one, hummus with roasted red pepper was another.
I made my recipe of small cheese fritters and served it with red pepper jelly (both Jules & Kent and Urban Fare make really good ones). Roasted and stuffed baby potatoes, a selection of cheeses, grapes and dried fruits (some guests had nut allergies so not nuts) and beautiful fresh vegetables with a couple of dips rounded up the self serve menu for the evening. For wine I offered a variety of Okanagan wines in red, white and Rosé that represented what the Okanagan has to offer. A simple menu but one that offered something for all the various food habits of the guests, from vegan to vegetarian to enjoy-everything guests. I must say that because it was such an easy menu I was not tired by the time the guests arrived and was actually free to visit with the guest and not be stuck in the kitchen, as can happen if the menu is complicated. The guests included old friends, new friends and some who I invited for the first time and want to get to know better. So I am posting a couple of the recipes and hope they are helpful. Keep me posted.
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup tahini paste
Water or liquid form chickpeas as needed
1 cup roasted red pepper from jar of fire roasted red peppers or 1 homemade roasted red peppers, see recipe here
Pita bread wedges or baguette slices
Directions:
Place all the ingredients except the water in a food processor and process to a paste consistency. If the mixture is too thick add water, a tablespoon at a time, until you get the right consistency. The mixture will be grainy at first but will smooth out as you add water and process it further.
Add the roasted pepper and process until blended.
Taste the hummus and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or lemon juice to suit your taste.
Spoon the dip into a serving bowls, scatter the reserved chickpeas over and sprinkle with paprika and chopped parsley. Drizzle olive oil over everything and add a pinch of coarse salt.
To serve as crostini brush a few slices of baguette with olive oil and grill in a 400℉ degrees oven until crisp and golden. Fill a serving dish with the hummus and serve alongside the grilled bread and good quality mediterranean style olives.
2 Comments
I had the pleasure of trying some of the food that evening.
This was delicious!
Thanks Mandy, it was lovely to have you and your family here. See you later. Ciao,
Dina