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1
Wash and cut the peppers in half and de-seed them, and cut the stems out.
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2
Chop each half into half again length-wise.
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3
Small pieces are good for this but don't make them too small.
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4
NOTE- the above step can be difficult if you have very sensitive skin and/or cuts on your hands.
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5
I'd recommend wearing form-fitting clean vinyl gloves in that case.
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6
Mix the pepper pieces with the olive oil and make sure they're well-coated with oil.
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7
Lay them out on a cookie sheet with the skin side up and turn the broiler on, keeping them pretty close to the heat, about 2-3 inches from the source.
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8
(I do this in my toaster oven on the top rack and it works brilliantly.)
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9
Broil for 15-20 minutes.
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10
When the peppers' skins appear to be blackening in places but not COMPLETELY charred, you're done.
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11
This is important, or else the meat won't won't come out of the skins later.
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12
Place the peppers into a large bowl and tightly cover in plastic wrap or put a large plate or bowl cover over the top, something to trap all that air in there-- this will steam the peppers and soften them further.
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13
Once tightly covered, let the peppers steam and cool in there for 15 minutes.
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14
No more, no less!
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15
When the 15 minutes are up, extract the peppers (should be cool to handle now) and they should come right out of their skin now, some might take a little work.
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16
Put the slippery pepper pieces into a food processor and pulse a few times to puree them.
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17
Add a few drops of water if they won't puree on their own.
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18
Add the chickpeas and do a rough chop a few times so the chickpeas and peppers can meld together.
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19
Add the garlic, lemon juice and dry spices and keep on a continuous puree to blend all the ingredients, scraping down the sides occasionally to ensure an even blend.
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20
The end result should be nice and smooth with no lumps or whole pieces of chickpeas or peppers; and a pleasant light red hue.
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21
I'd recommend refridgerating for at least 2 hours prior to eating/serving but of course you can't resist putting a pita chunk into it right now.
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22
;) I love this on French bread or ciabatta with spinach and grilled eggplant!
