Roast Garlic Hummus

Homemade hummus is delicious but have you tried Roasted Garlic Hummus. Well Im here to tell you roasting or confit’ing garlic takes hummus to a whole new level. It is sweet, earthy, creamy and rich with that garlicky umami flavor. With just a few pantry staple ingredients this recipe comes together in no time. All you need is some chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, ground cumin and garlic!

This Mediterranean/Middle Eastern dip is an awesome snack or appetizer for weekend snacking, dinner parties or when your friend calls to drop in. The highlight of this recipe is the roast garlic or if you’re up to it try garlic confit. Roasting or confit’ing slowly cooks the garlic, mellowing its natural pungency and lends a umami rich sweetness. It is not as spicy or pungent as raw garlic so we can get away with using a whole head of roast garlic in our hummus. Raw garlic has a strong bold garlic flavor and pungency, we can use only a clove or two. This makes it ideal for people who don’t like raw garlic but want to enjoy a flavorful hummus. This recipe uses roast garlic but you can also try garlic confit.

Ingredients For Roast Garlic Hummus

• Garlic: You need about 2 heads of garlic, but I make extra to use in other recipes for later. 2 whole heads of garlic may seem like a lot, but once roasted, the garlic turns mellow, and sweet. You could even add one more whole head of garlic to this recipe if you wanted.
• Chickpeas: Use canned chickpeas for this recipe because they are already cooked, soft and handy. For cooking chickpeas from scratch; you will need to soak the dried chickpeas overnight, cook them before adding them to the recipe.
• Tahini: Tahini is a paste made by grounding sesame seeds into a smooth paste. It gives hummus its rich flavor and smooth texture. These days you can find tahini online and in most grocery stores.
• Olive oil: I like to use good quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil in this recipe for drizzling on top of the hummus and garlic heads.
• Lemon juice: This helps to bring some acidity and brighten up the flavors in the hummus.
• Salt:  I like to use about ½ teaspoon, use more or less to your taste.
• Ice: I like to add a few ice cubes or ½ cup chilled water to the food processor when blending. This helps to make the hummus extra smooth and creamy. Another great tip buy Ottolenghi.

Highlights

• Roasted Garlic or Garlic Confit is better than plain garlic alone. The roasting or confit’ing mellows the garlic leaving it sweet, soft, creamy, rich in umami goodness and absolutely irresistible.
• Creamy and smooth. This hummus is creamy, luscious and smooth with a rich umami goodness from the tahini and roast garlic.
• Healthy Snack. This hummus is rich in healthy fats, plant protein and fiber from the tahini, olive oil and chickpeas. Making it a better snack option.
• Versatility there are so many ways to enjoy this hummus, the list below suggests a few ways.

How To Serve and How To Store

• Chips: This a dip and the best way to serve is with pita chips or Homemade soft Pitas.
• Sautéed Veggies: One of my favorite ways is to serve this hummus with sautéed mushrooms and onions mixture (Ottolenghi’s book Flavor) with some fresh pita.
• Veggie Crudités: Batons of raw carrots, cucumber, celery, radishes, or bite size florets of broccoli or cauliflower lightly steamed, wedges of sweet potatoes are delicious with this hummus.
• Salads: serve roasted garlic hummus with salads, simply chop up some cucumber, onions, along with roasted chickpeas, olives, lots of herbs, lemon juice, olive oil and spices.
• Kebab dinners: is a great way to serve as a sauce to a kebab, shawarma or Mediterranean inspired dinners. Simply thin it out with some water + lemon juice to give it a more sauce/dressing texture and serve along side. Try it with Zaatar Chicken Salad, Tawook Kebab, Halal Cart Chicken Shawarma.

Store your hummus in an airtight glass container, preferably. Hummus tends to absorb flavors and takes on flavors of the containers like plastic containers. Use with 2-3 days for best flavor.