Roasted Garlic Hummus

I’d never tasted Hummus until about four years ago, in Egypt.

Hands down the best experience of my life.  (The trip to Egypt that is, not the hummus, though the hummus was pretty amazing in itself).

I mean, it was Egypt.  There were camel treks to deserted ruins, travel by donkey to the Valley of the Kings, 3 nights spent on what was essentially a floating mattress with sails floating down the Nile river, photo-ops with The Sphynx…

And then there was the culinary experience… street-side Shawarma and Falafels, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed pigeon, ketchup that tastes cinnamon-y and was always served on the side when you ordered pizza, and the McArabia (not kidding).  Also, just about every time I sat down to eat, at every meal there was usually a bowl or two of hummus and a side of bread for the table to share.

So now, every time I have hummus, it takes me back.  Back to crazy taxi rides through Cairo, baby crocodiles caught in buckets, and tons and tons of different kinds of bread for breakfast.

Hummus tastes much more authentic when you make it yourself rather than when you buy it at the store.  Or maybe that’s just my bias, I can’t say for certain, but I do know that it’s super easy to make, delicious, and hey, it’s packed with protein so that is a major snackage plus.  My take on this classic dish involves a whole head of roasted garlic (which is also supremely easy but is the most time-consuming part of the whole process just because of the wait, but at least you’ll have a great smelling kitchen by the time you’re done), but really it’s so easy to bring together.  Just roast your garlic, process everything together, and serve.

Yum.  Egypt.

Do you have a food that you love specifically because it takes you back to a favorite time/place?

Roasted Garlic Hummus

5 from 3 votes

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Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

• 1 clove head garlic + 1for garnish optional
• 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained, 15.5 oz
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + additional for garnish optional
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp chili powder
• Paprika for garnish optional

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 425.
• Peel the outer layers of the head of garlic and cut off one end, removing about 1/4-1/2" of the end of all cloves.
• Place the garlic on foil, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil (about 1 tsp) and wrap the foil around it, sealing the garlic in a ball.  Place it in a baking tray in the oven for 30 minutes.
• When the garlic has finished cooking, remove from oven and open the foil, allow it to cool.
• Once the garlic has cooled, removed the tender cloves from any remaining shells (or gently squeeze them out) and place them in a food processor, discarding shell.  Add in remaining ingredients (chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, sea salt, cumin and chili powder) and process until smooth.
• Transfer to a serving dish.  For garnish, press 1 clove of garlic using garlic press and sprinkle over Hummus.  Additionally, drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with Paprika.
• Hummus will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator.

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