Roasted Red Pepper Sun Dried Tomato 'Hummus'

When the the post with a recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Sun Dried Tomato Hummus from PEACE + LOVE + LOW CARB first arrived in my inbox a few weeks ago, I knew it was something I wanted to try!

It is not truly a hummus, because there is not a chickpea to be found!  And it is more like the texture of a Babaganoush – likely because of the tahini that is in it. The flavor is more liket that Babanoush as well.   It will make a lovely dip or sandwich topping… and for dinner we enjoyed some served on roasted chicken breasts.

It fits into a variety of food plans, too…. vegan, paleo, gluten free, and it is also low fat which I know my Weight Watchers buddies will appreciate…. actually, you could leave the olive oil right out of it if you like.

I didn’t Pin the recipe, because I was afraid I would forget about it… I left it in my inbox to keep reminding me that I wanted to make it… just as soon as I found some red peppers that didn’t cost an arm and a leg!  Gosh they have been so very expensive here lately.

But, today was the day!

The Captain and I went for a nice long walk downtown this morning. I had some library books to pick up at the central branch and we circled around through Chinatown to check out the market stalls… I love wandering the Chinese grocers… no hype, no fancy displays…just great looking, fresh-off-the-truck produce for very good prices. 

Hurray for great produce buys!  I found some nice red peppers, some bananas and some limes, while The Captain chose some white onions and oranges. 

After we got home and had lour lunch out on the the balcony in the sunshine, I got to work, on this ‘hummus’… I made up only half of the recipe as given and then added a few dashes of red pepper flakes for a bit more of a taste punch.

Most of these ingredients are things that I normally have on hand.  When I want roasted red peppers, I do my own using an easy quick method for broiling them in my oven.  I have purchased roasted red peppers in a jar, and they would likely be fine in a pinch, but they just are not as tasty as doing them yourself.

I also used dried sun-dried tomatoes so I let them soak in a bit of water while I peeled and seeded the still warm, just-roasted red pepper.

Kyndra used a Vitamix blender to make her hummus. I don’t have a Vitamix. In fact I am sure that my food processor is pretty middle of the road, but it didn’t have any trouble handling the load from these ingredients.

I did my clean up and put the hummus is in the refrigerator to chill.  I have to confess, I did lick the spatula after I finished using it to scrape out every bit of goodness from the bowl of my food processor… and the hummus is delicious…



A few hours later I served it over baked chicken breasts with our dinner and it was soooooo delicious!  Very garlicky, and just the right amount of cumin. It did need a bit more salt and The Captain loved it, too.

Yeah, I know… the color!   But in spite of that, it is wonderful!

Half the recipe, as I made it, produced about 2 cups of hummus.  The Nutritional Information is as I made it.

Per 1/4 cup serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 1.
Calories 52; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 5g; Fat 3g; Fibre 1g.

Do you like veggie dips?  What else could you pair this with?

Here's a Light and Skinny Summer Dip...

Summer brings outdoor get-together with friends and family and that means munching and snacking.... here is a dip I put together for my calorie-conscious friends.  It is nice with cut up veggies, tortilla or potato chips, and even small crackers.

Sundried Tomato Dip
Makes 8 servings, 2 Tbs each

• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 cup fat free sour cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup less 1 tsp fat free milk (11 tsp)
• 2 medium green onions, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• dash of thyme

1. Place tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them.  Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes until they have plumped a bit and softened.  Drain water from the tomatoes and then chop them finely.
2. While the tomatoes are rehydrating, put 1 tsp lemon juice in a 1-cup measuring cup.  Add fat free milk to the 1/4 cup line.  Let sit for 5 minutes while milk thickens.
3. In bowl, stir together tomatoes, sour cream, onions, thickened milk, salt, pepper and thyme.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
5. Sprinkle with a bit of thyme to garnish before serving.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 1.
Calories 39; Protein 3g; Carbohydrate 7g; Fat 0g; Fibre 1g.

Note:
This can be make-ahead. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Place dried tomatoes in a bowl.

Drain the tomatoes well, and then squeeze the remaining water from them before you finely chop them.

Mince the green onions.

Stir it all together in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

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