Scott's Roasted Garlic Hummus with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Basil

Scott was just sitting in the Great Room, when one day out of the out of the blue, he said that he wanted to make Hummus, Roasted Garlic Hummus, with maybe sun dried tomatoes, and basil, some lemon juice, and smoky paprika. (He was going through the pantry and fridge in his head). See the flecks of green and red in the hummus. As he was talking, he was concocting the recipe. That's my foodie Hubby.

Hummus is a fairly new food group for us, maybe about only a year. I had bought a can of Garbanzo beans, or do you call them chickpeas, planning to make hummus one day.  Making your own hummus, tastes so much better, and you can control the amount of sodium, even using canned garbanzo beans, and tailor the ingredients to your tastes. Roasting your own garlic is so easy and adds so much flavor, not the bite of fresh garlic, but a  rich buttery, sweet flavor.

 You can make this in your food processor or blender. He used our immersion blender, and it worked very well, as you can see. We didn't use tahini, maybe because we didn't have any. He also didn't add any red pepper flakes, either, which was strange for him, because he adds them to lots of dishes,  but I was happy.  You can add the heat if, you like. The hummus has the rich flavor of the roasted garlic, with the brightness of lemon with a subtle basil flavor, and the sweetness of the sun dried tomatoes, and the smoky paprika. Oh Wow! You could eat it right out of the bowl, just sayin'.  Maybe next time we'll buy the dry garbanzo beans, soak them, cook them, and the make Hummus. Serve this hummus with pita chips, veggies, or crackers.  Enjoy!

We'll be making another batch of this hummus for March Madness, while we fill out our brackets.  Are you into March Madness? Do you fill out brackets!  We are Foodies, as well as sports geeks!

Roasted Garlic Hummus with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Basil

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (15 oz.) rinsed and drained
• 1 head of garlic, roasted*
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and juice of half a lemon
• 2 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes
• 10 basil leaves
• 1 tsp smoky paprika
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)  Didn’t put these in
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation

*Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove the loose papery outside skin from the garlic head without separating the cloves. Slice off the top 1/2 inch. cover with 1 Tbsp olive oil Wrap in a small square of foil and roast until the garlic is very soft, about 40 minutes. Unwrap and cool slightly. Separate the cloves and peel.

In a food processor, blender, or using and immersion blender, process beans, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, basil, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and smoky paprika ,until desired consistency. If hummus is too thick, simply add more olive oil in small increments (1/2 teaspoon) until desired consistency.

Transfer to a small serving bowl and refrigerate until serving time. Store, covered in refrigerator, up to 2 days.

I linked up Scott's Roasted Garlic Hummus with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Basil to Brandie@ The Coutry Cook's Weekend Potluck #8
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