SMOKED HUMMUS

Smoked Hummus image

Provided by Katie Lee Biegel

Time 1h30m

Yield about 6 cups

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

1 head garlic
3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Three 14-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 lemons, sliced in half
1 cup tahini
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons chopped jarred roasted red pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, optional
Seasoned pita chips, for serving, recipe follows
One 18-ounce bag plain pita chips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic salt

Steps:

Set up a smoke box or foil pan with 1 cup of wood chips. Place under the grill grates of a gas grill on top of a burner. Preheat the grill to 300 degrees F with the direct heat under the pan with the wood chips.
Slice a little off the top of the head of garlic to expose the top of the cloves. Drizzle the cloves with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and wrap it in foil. Place the chickpeas into a colander that is entirely metal. Cover the colander with foil. Place both the chickpeas and garlic on the cool side of the grill. Close the grill and let the chickpeas smoke for 30 minutes and the garlic cook for 1 hour, until the cloves are soft. Remove the chickpeas and let cool while the garlic finishes cooking.
About 10 minutes before the garlic is done, place the lemon halves, cut-side down, on the grill over direct heat and grill until slightly charred and grill marked, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool and then squeeze the juice from the lemons through a strainer into a bowl.
When the garlic is done, let cool for about 10 minutes and then unwrap from the foil and squeeze the garlic head over a small bowl to remove the softened cloves.
Combine the cooled, smoked chickpeas, roasted garlic, tahini, salt, cumin, juice from the grilled lemons and water in a food processor. Blend for 2 minutes, and then drizzle in the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil. Continue to blend until completely smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. If the hummus is too thick, add some more water to achieve desired consistency.
Transfer the hummus to serving bowl and garnish with chopped roasted red peppers, paprika, parsley if using and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with seasoned pita chips on the side.
Add the pita chips to a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat. Combine the paprika and garlic salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the pita chips and toss to coat.