Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with Warm Pita Bread and Endive

Until you’ve had hummus this good, you haven’t really hummus-ed! Here’s the key—homemade is best. Most garbanzo beans found in grocery stores or salad bars (especially canned garbanzos) are the cream-colored, relatively round kabuli beans, another name for garbanzo beans or chickpeas. Just put the hummus ingredients in the blender or food processor, then warm the pita bread, and you’re minutes away from nibbling.

Serves 8 • Prep Time: 5 minutes • Cook Time: 5 minutes

 

1  (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (about 11/2 cups)

2  cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/3  cup fresh lemon juice

1/8  teaspoon ground cumin

1/3  cup tahini (sesame paste) or smooth peanut butter

1/3  cup jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained

 Salt and pepper

1/4  cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

8  small pita breads olive oil or grapeseed oil, for brushing

4  small heads Belgian endive, trimmed and separated into leaves

1. For the hummus, combine the garbanzo beans, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, and tahini in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Add the red peppers and pulse, until the peppers are finely chopped. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the chopped parsley. The hummus can be made 1 day in advance. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving.
2. For the pita bread, brush the pita all over with oil, and broil or heat in a skillet on both sides until blistered and hot. When cool enough to handle, cut each pita into 8 triangles with kitchen shears or a sharp knife. Serve the hummus in a bowl, surrounded by pita triangles and endive leaves.

Calories 250 • Total Fat 8g • Saturated Fat 1g • Carbohydrates 38g • Protein 11g • Dietary Fiber 11g • Sodium 278mg

WHO KNEW?

Q: How do I press, slice, or mince fresh garlic?

A: pressed garlic: When using a garlic press, place the garlic inside and squeeze hard until all the garlic is pressed through.

Sliced garlic: Use a sharp paring knife to make the slices as thin as possible.

Minced garlic: Once the garlic is sliced, you can then mince it. Use a chopping motion with the knife, holding down the tip. Carefully brush the garlic off your knife, as it tends to pile up on the knife as you continue to mince.

 

DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?

Go with garbanzos!

 

Garbanzo beans are perfect for your digestive support, especially if you are focusing on the colon. From 65 to 75 percent of the fiber found in garbanzo beans is insoluble fiber, which produces by-products in your colon that fuel cells in your intestines, keeping the colon working as designed.

A University of Illinois study, published in the March 2010 journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, demonstrates the benefits of soluble fiber because it reduces the inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases and strengthens the immune system. “Soluble fiber (found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, lentils, citrus fruits, apples, strawberries, and carrots) changes the personality of immune cells. They go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from infection,” said Gregory Freund, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and a faculty member in the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences’ Division of Nutritional Sciences.

Insoluble fiber—found in foods, such as whole wheat and whole grain products, wheat bran, and green, leafy vegetables—is also valuable for providing bulk and helping food move through the digestive system, but it doesn’t provide the boost to the immune system that soluble fiber provides.