Spicy Tomato and Olive Oil Hummus

I like experimenting with Hummus. It is so easy to make yourself. This recipe came about because I did not like the quality of the sun-dried tomatoes I had bought. They were dry and hard as a rock. I soaked them in warm water and followed a recipe for sun-dried tomato hummus. It was lacking in tomato flavor. I tried again with  oil packed sun-dried tomatoes and it made a huge difference in flavor. One day I found myself with extra tomatoes that needed to be used. I searched on line for how to oven dry tomatoes. I found a recipe from Martha Stewart. It took over 6 hours to dry the tomatoes in the oven. The next time I put them in the oven on convection. That only took 2 hours. I love tomatoes this way. They are more like roasted tomatoes than dried tomatoes. They are moist and filled with concentrated tomato flavor. They work great in this hummus recipe. The herbs are also a nice addition. You can't buy these tomatoes in a jar at the store. They really make this Hummus special.

Spicy Tomato and Olive Oil Hummus

Serves 4 (serving a generous 1/3 cup)

Ingredients

5 oven dried tomatoes halves in olive oil (recipe follows)

1 (15-1/2 oz) can chickpeas, drained liquid reserved

2 Tbsp olive oil from tomatoes

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne

Directions

Combine the 4 tomatoes wedges and the remaining ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth, adding some of the reserved liquid until the hummus is desired consistency. Add remaining tomato, pulse until they are just flakes of red not large pieces.

To serve: Spread 2-3 Tbsp on a plate. Make a moat in the hummus with the back of a spoon. Drizzle moat with some of the olive oil from the tomatoes. In the very center place a few slices of oven dried tomato. Serve with pita or veggies for dipping. Also makes a great spread or substitute for mayonnaise and tomato on your sandwich or wrap.

Oven Dried Tomatoes

Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

6 roma or plum tomatoes, each cut in half

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 tsp each basil, oregano, and rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, on pan, spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar and herbs; season with salt and pepper.

Transfer pan to oven; dry until juices have stopped running, edges are shriveled, and pieces have shrunken slightly; timing will vary depending on the variety, ripeness, and desired degree of dryness, 1 1/2 to 6 hours. Cool completely. Store in the refrigerator or cover with olive oil.

Notes: It took 2 hours in a convection oven. When I tried in a regular oven it took longer than 6 hours.

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