Roasted Garlic Hummus

If I were to have a relationship with any food on the planet, it would be garlic. It is my one and true love, and I've known it to be ever since I could remember. I've always loved it - love at first taste if you will. When I was younger (say adolescent, mid-teenish), I used to just simply fry up smashed garlic in some salt and pepper and eat it. Alone. I know, I'm weird, but that's how much I love the stuff.

When a recipe calls for 1 clove of garlic, I scoff, and triple (possibly quadruple) the amount. I've been working my way along making mezze appetizers (see here), since I can't get enough of the stuff and what better than to combine two of my obsessions: garlic and mezze. Together, their love child is the simply irresistible roasted garlic hummus.

I have a hummus recipe I adore that's simple, easy to whip up and delicious. I just tweeked it a bit by adding loads of roasted garlic and I was in heaven. With warm pita bread or in a sandwich, it is purely awesome! Plus, it's healthy and lasts for weeks!

Roasted Garlic Hummus

Yields: approximately 2 1/2 cups

adapted from Zov's Recipes and Memories from the Heart 

2 heads garlic + 2 garlic cloves

2 cups of canned garbanzo beans, drained

1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup of tahini paste

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 cup olive oil + extra for drizzling over garlic heads

Preheat the oven to 400 F. To roast the garlic, peel off the outer layer of the garlic bulb, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a sharp knife, cut off 1/4" of the tops of the garlic bulbs, exposing the individual cloves inside. Place the heads in a large piece of foil, then drizzle with about 1 tbsn. of olive oil. Fold and roast for 30 - 45 minutes or until the cloves are soft. Allow the garlic to cool until you can handle it. Once cool, use either a fork to fish out the garlic cloves or you can squeeze them out of their skins; set aside. Mince the fresh garlic in a food processor. Add the garbanzo beans, lemon juice and roasted garlic, blend until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Blend in the tahini, cumin, and salt. With the machine running, stream in the olive oil and blend until creamy and combined. Add in the jalapenos and cilantro, blend until well minced and combined. Serve and enjoy!