Roasted Red Pepper Hummus With Pine Nuts

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   Note: *I use anywhere from 12-15 cloves, but your mileage may vary. It's also good to keep in mind that raw garlic takes a while to fully flavor a dish, so be careful of relying too much on that first taste. You just might end up adding more garlic when you don't actually need it (ha, as if there was such a thing!). When I make my hummus and serve it on the same day, I usually back off on the fresh garlic and increase the garlic powder, which gives more of an immediate flavor.

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   If you're roasting your own peppers, throw them in the broiler now. Broil peppers until they're burnt to a crisp. Use tongs to place pepper in sealed plastic container and steam for 5-10 minutes (the longer you wait, the easier it will be to get that skin off). Carefully peel away blackened skin, then remove stem and seeds while preserving as much of the liquid inside the pepper as you can.

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   Toast pine nuts in a hot, dry saucepan. These two things (broiling peppers and toasting pine nuts) can both be done while you're combining the rest of the ingredients, but be sure to keep an eye on the pine nuts, as they go from raw to perfectly toasted to burnt to a crisp in a matter of seconds.

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   Combine garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and cayenne in food processor and blend until smooth.

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   Add roasted, peeled peppers** and as much of their liquid as you managed to save to food processor and blend into garbanzo bean mixture.

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   Slowly drizzle olive oil into mixture until you get the consistency you're looking for.

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   Taste the hummus. At this point, it usually needs another squirt of lemon juice and a half pinch of salt to really solidify the flavor.

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   Garnish with paprika and toasted pine nuts and serve with vegetables, crackers, baguette slices, or pita

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   (serving size is approximately 1/3 c).

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.