Homemade hummus is one of my go-to weeknight dinners, something quick that requires minimal chopping and dish washing. We serve it with pitas from the Holy Land--once you've had their fresh pitas you can't go back to the grocery store variety--and a tray of sliced bell peppers, cucumbers that I never bother to peel, and baby carrots. My hummus would make a traditionalist cringe: I use canned chickpeas and skip the tahini. I used to feel embarrassed about this, but the thing is, cooking dinner is not a competitive sport. There aren't prizes awarded at the end of the night. You just get a participation certificate, in the form of a plate of food. And if that food is good, if you enjoy it and it's reasonably nourishing, that's all that matters.
So I've decided to shamelessly take my already inauthentic hummus in a Mexican-inspired direction, swapping in lime juice for lemon and adding roasted jalapenos and a handful of cilantro. By this point, I should probably be calling it "chickpea spread" instead of "hummus", out of deference to hundreds of years of tradition. Regardless of its name, the resulting dip is moderately spicy--add an extra jalapeno or two if you like heat or only use one jalapeno for a milder version.
Ingredients:
- 2 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded
- (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- cilantro, to garnish (optional)
Place the pepper halves on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil until charred, about 10 minutes. Flip the peppers and broil until charred on the other side, about 10 minutes.
Combine roasted peppers, chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, and salt in a food processor and process until smooth. Serve garnished with cilantro, if desired.
