I have been a bit slack lately and have been buying hummus from the grocery store rather than making my own.  I was cleaning up all of the bits of the paper stuck to the fridge on the weekend and found this recipe that I had saved from the side of a can of jalapeno’s.  We buy bulk 3 kg tins of Golden Sun sliced Jalapeno peppers from Moore Wilsons and split them out into smaller jars that keep in the cupboard for around 6 months.   I was inspired to try out the recipe and the results were excellent.

I used canned chick peas for this recipe but I boiled them with some baking soda for about 10 mins to soften them up and remove the skins.  I find that this makes for a creamier, less lumpy hummus.  Don’t panic if you can’t be bothered picking out all the loose skins.  Boiling makes them nice and soft so they blend up better.  I removed about half then gave up.  I also tweeked the recipe slightly by adding water to loosen rather than oil as I prefer the consistency and added double the jalapenos as I like mine hot.  One last tip, I always run the food processor for at least 5 mins on the first setting (mine was a 21st birthday present so I have had it for a verrrrry long time) which is the slowest it will go.  This aerates the hummus and makes it more creamy.  

Jalapeno Hummus

• 1/4 cup sliced jalapeno’s, drained (or more if you like it hot, I used 1/2 cup)
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp baking soda (if cooking chickpeas)
• 3 TBSP Tahini
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• water to thin if required (I used 2 TBSP)
• salt to taste – optional

Put the drained chickpeas into a pot and cover with cold water.  Add the baking soda and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins or until the skins are starting to float to the surface.  At this stage you can scoop the skins out with a slotted spoon or wait until they are drained and pick them out.

Drain the chickpeas and remove skins if desired.  Set aside to cool.

Add the chickpeas into the bowl of your food processor (if you aren’t cooking your chickpeas first, you can skip the above step and proceed from here).  Add all of the other ingredients except the water and the salt.  Run your blender on the slowest setting until all of the ingredients are combined and the hummus is starting to look nice and creamy. At this stage, if you think the mix is looking a bit thick add some water a little bit at a time to thin it down. I ended up adding 2 tablespoons to get a consistency I was happy with. Have a taste and add salt if necessary. I used no added salt chickpeas so added a few grinds of salt which was perfect.

Now you want to run the food processor on the slowest setting for at least 5 mins to aerate the hummus and make it super creamy. Once you are happy with the taste and the consistency, decant into your storage container of choice (I used a recycled cottage cheese container) and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. I guarantee it won’t last that long though. I used some as a replacement for sour cream on my nachos and it was soooo good!

Thanks to Golden Sun for the base recipe