Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

After I graduated from college, I moved to Crested Butte, Colorado where I spent the summer doing field research on bumblebees. At the end of July, both of my roommates were preparing to head home because they were finished with their research. That week, a family of bears started breaking into cabins looking for food. I was terrified that my roommates were leaving and I was gong to be spending the next few weeks by myself in the cabin. Jamie, who'd been living in our cabin every summer for the past 8 years, told me that the tares in the screen of our "patio" door were from a bear trying to get into our fridge. I believed her because she had no reason to lie about it and because it looked a lot like slashes made by a bear paw. I thought that surely I was going to have a late night run-in with a bear! (Thankfully, I didn't.)

Anyway, to celebrate the end of our time living together, we donned the nicest clothes we had in our lopsided, dusty cabin and headed down the mountain for a nice dinner. Jamie and Rebecca were deciding which appetizer to order and suggested hummus. They were shocked to learn that I was 22 and had never tried hummus! The waiter placed the platter in middle of the table and my roommates looked at me, expectantly. I grabbed a slice of cucumber, dipped it in the hummus and took a bite. It was good, a little garlicy, but good! My roommates explained that there were other, less garlicky flavors of hummus that I might like better.

At the end of the summer, I moved back to Wisconsin to work for a year while I applied to graduate school. I started cooking and baking nonstop! One day, I decided to make homemade hummus. Following the suggestion of my roommates, I made roasted red pepper hummus. I have no idea where I got the recipe, but I've spent the past 3+ years optimizing it. I promised my mom this recipe years ago, but I don't think I ever sent it to her! Here it is, optimized to be flavorful with a slight kick. I often serve this hummus with crackers and veges but it's also delicious in a wrap with cucumber, tomato, spinach, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Materials
15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
1 roasted red pepper (feel free to use one from a jar)*
2 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh-squeezed if you can)
2 tbsp. lime juice (fresh-squeezed if you can)
1 1/2 tbsp. tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 tbsp. olive oil (or more)

Methods
1. As annoying as it is, slip the skins off of the garbanzo beans. Gently pinch each bean, and slide off the skin. If this is too tedious for you (I hear you), leave the skins on, but know that your hummus won't be as smooth as it could be (you'll still enjoy it, I promise).
2. Combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil in the blender. Pulse a few times to combine. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Once the hummus is whirling and looks moist, stop adding olive oil.
3. Continue to pulse until smooth and well-bended.
4. Refrigerate and serve cold.

*Alternative: use 3-4 roasted piquillo peppers