Smoked paprika hummus with roasted red peppers

A smoked paprika hummus that will warm you up on cooler autumn days. The roasted red peppers give this hummus a sweetness but the earthy smoked paprika gives it a lovely warm depth and I can't get enough of it.

Homemade hummus is so easy to make, I wonder why anyone ever buys it. With a can of chickpeas and a few everyday items you can make your own, and create your own flavours. I've always loved roasted red pepper hummus but I've eaten it to death, and adding smoked paprika gives it a new lease of life. I don't put garlic in this recipe, as much as I love it, as it can be a it overpowering and I wanted the smoked paprika to sing. Slather it onto pita, flatbread, crusty baguette, or crudites. Spread this paprika hummus in a sandwich. Dollop it onto a salad. It's possibilities are endless and it's just. so. simple.

I like this dish served best in the autumn, when the summer peppers are coming to an end and smoky flavours are in the air.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions and variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Smoky paprika hummus with roasted red peppers

Ingredients

• Red peppers
• Chickpeas
• Tahini
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Smoked paprika
• Parsley
• Salt and pepper

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

First, roast your peppers. You want the skins to char slightly to give even more of a smoky flavour to this hummus so use a hotter oven than usual for roasting. Pre-heat to 200 C / 400 F.

Cut the peppers into chunks and remove any seeds, then place on a baking tray and drizzle liberally with oil.

Roast the peppers in the oven for 30 minutes or so until the skins look silky and lightly charred on the edges. Give the tray a shake every once in a while.

Drain a can of chickpeas, reserving a bit of the water.

Place the chickpeas, tahini, peppers, lemon juice, olive oil and paprika into a food processor and blend until smooth. If the hummus needs to be thinned out slightly, use a splash of the reserved chickpea water.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped parsley.

This smoked paprika hummus tastes great slathered on warm crusty bread, or scooped up with vegetable crudites.

Hint: If you like your hummus on the chunky side, just pulse it a few times in the food processor to get your desired consistency. If it seems a little too thick, you can add a bit more oil or a splash of reserved chickpea water to thin it out some more.

I also always recommend growing your own herbs. It makes cooking so much easier to just be able to grab a handful of whatever you need and fresh is always best!

Substitutions and variations

Here are a few ways you can change up this smoked paprika hummus recipe to suit you.

• Beans - instead of using chickpeas you could try this with other types of beans
• Spicy - use hot paprika instead of smoked paprika, or both!
• Deluxe - Sprinkle some goat cheese over the top

Looking for other dips? This broad bean dip is great too.

Equipment

You will need a decent blender to make this hummus nice and smooth, and an oven tray to roast your bell peppers.

I have a Kitchen Aid as it's multipurpose with several attachments and settings.

Storage

Store any leftovers in the fridge. Good for 3-4 days.

Top tip

You can also freeze this smoked paprika hummus. I like to freeze it in small Tupperware containers and use it to make canapes for dinner parties, spreading a small amount onto a crostini and topping with a piece of goat cheese.