An Inspired Cook

Hummus has been the snack of choice for Joe lately. He is an early riser and about 10 am he wants a snack to get him through until lunch. I’ve been picking up hummus spread from the store to snack on with crackers during the week, however he was getting tired of the same flavors. So I asked what sounded good to him and of course he wanted chile. So the next question was red or green? He picked roasted red chile which turned out to be a great choice. Chile that is grown in New Mexico is harvested when it is green, but some are left on the vine to mature which turns red. Many of the mature red chiles will be strung together in chile ristras to dry out. Those pods when dried can be used to make red chile sauce or ground into powder for spice blends. Some farms will roast the mature red chiles at the end of the harvest and those are what I’m adding to the hummus today. Roasted red chile can sometimes be spicier than green but has a hint of sweetness which gives it a unique taste. That unique flavor works well in this hummus spread.

Hummus is very simple to make, you have a handful of ingredients that you throw into a food processor and then add anything you choose to flavor it. This recipe starts with garbanzo beans and tahini paste. Tahini paste is made from ground sesame seeds and resembles peanut butter. It’s usually found on an aisle with Asian food products.

Add 2 cloves of grated garlic.

1/3 cup of lemon juice . . .

1/2 cup water . . .

1/4 cup olive oil . . .

And 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Process all the ingredients together until you have a smooth spread.

It’s time to add the roasted red chile. At the end of last season’s harvest I got a 1/2 bushel roasted and put in the freezer. I roughly chopped 1/2 cup of roasted red to add to the hummus. Stir to evenly distribute the chopped red chile throughout the hummus.

Serve with a dollop of red chile, a sprinke of toasted pinon nuts and crushed red pepper.

You can order New Mexico Roasted and Chopped Red Chile from the following vendors:
Los Roast Red Chile (My personal favorite)
Zia Green Chile Company
Chopped Chile Company
The Fresh Chile Company

Roasted Red Chile Hummus

2 (15 ounce) cans Garbanzo Beans
2/3 cup Tahini Paste
2 cloves Garlic, grated on a microplane grater
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Roasted Red Chile, roughly chopped
Crushed Red Pepper and Toasted Pinon Nuts, optional

In a food processor, combine the garbanzo beans, tahini paste, grated garlic, lemon juice, water, olive oil and salt. Process until smooth. Add the 1/2 cup of roasted chopped red chile. Stir to evenly distribute the red chile throughout the hummus.

Serve with a dollop of chopped red chile. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and toasted pinon nuts. Refrigerate any leftover hummus in a storage container with a lid.