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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Ready, Steady, Cook Challenge: Starter Roasted Apricot & Sweet Pepper Hummus w/ cold Green Bean dippers

You know I love a challenge, right?  Well, when Lady Raven of Add to Taste announced that she was starting up a Ready, Steady, Cook! challenge...I signed up without a second thought.  Always gettin' myself in deep, huh?  Basically, each participant is assigned a list of 7 ingredients different for each participant which they then use in conjuction w/ pantry/free items to create a three course menu.  Following is a list of the Pantry & Free items...and the list of my personal 7 ingredients that I was assigned by Jessica of Tiny Oven Adventures.
I'm gonna be honest with you here...I had a really hard time fitting green beans in with my other items... Oh, I managed to do it, I'm just not sure how well I did it.  Each course is to be posted separately, so for each, I'll highlight the course I'm sharing that day.  I'm gonna go ahead and share in order...cuz I'm totally OCD like that.
Roasted Apricot & Sweet Pepper Hummus
w/ cold Green Bean dippers
from the kitchen of girlichef
yield: ~ 1½  c. hummus

~1 c. cooked Chickpeas
2 Apricots, halved & pitted
3 small Sweet Peppers
3 cloves garlic, peeled
~2 Tbs. Olive Oil
juice of 1 Lemon
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
pinch of Cumin

fresh, uncooked green beans
sea salt

Begin by "roasting" the apricot halves, sweet peppers, and garlic on a hot comal or cast iron skillet...or under a hot broiler...until charred.

In the meantime, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.  Snap the ends of the green beans off and drop into boiling water.  Let cook just a few minutes, until al dente.  You want to be able to pick them up without having them droop.  Quickly pull out of boiling water with a slotted skimmer or strainer and transfer to an ice bath.  This will stop the cooking.  Set aside on a clean towel to dry.

Remove the roasted peppers to a bowl and cover with film.  Let steam until cool enough to handle, then slide of the skin and remove stem and seeds.

Place the chickpeas, roasted apricots, roasted garlic, and the roasted sweet peppers in the bowl of a food processor.  Add the olive oil, juice of a lemon, a good pinch or so of salt, a good grating of black pepper, and a big pinch of cumin.  Process until very smooth.  If the mixture seems a bit thick, add a tablespoon or so of water at a time until it is a good consistency for dipping.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve the hummus cold or at room temperature with the cold green beans on the side for dipping...sprinkled liberally w/ sea salt.
I love "regular" hummus...but I sincerely enjoyed the flair that the roasted apricots and sweet peppers added...an earthy, natural sweetness that the heat and char-factor brought forward...add in my best friend garlic and you have a starter course that will get your tummy rumbling in anticipation of the next course!

....watch for my Main Course and Dessert to come soon!
readysteadycook

My other menu portions:
*Dessert





*To see a list of completed challenges, check THIS PAGE...Lady Raven will be updating as courses/challengers post!

Would you like to comment?

  1. I love roasted red pepper hummus!

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  2. Man! How in the world do you manage to do it all? I wanna post telling me how to juggle it all. :)
    ~ingrid

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  3. wow its an interesting event n very challenging too ..u r simply gr8 dear.
    ur hummus looks awesome ,love the combo ,my hubby is a big fan of hummus ...must try ur version soon ...thanks for sharing

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

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  4. Too challenging for me, lol, but I'm going to enjoy reading your posts Heather. Brilliant way to use the green beans! And your hummus looks beyond delicious. Waiting for the rest of the meal...... :o)

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  5. Good luck and have a lot of fun, Heather. Now this dish look very good, I could go for this, but knowing hubby, he'd shy away from it. He never likes to try anything new which limits me creativity in the kitchen, like yours. Wow, really good. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. You're always up for a challenge--don't know how you do it, girl!

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  7. I am so impressed!! It seems you were able to cook up a brilliant meal. Genius. The sea salt is such a nice complement.

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  8. Este Humus se ve genial, que ingredientes mĂ¡s buenos tiene el tuyo.

    Saludos

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  9. Using the green beans as dippers shows creativity Heather.The added bonus is it boosts the healthy factor of an already healthy hummus.

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  10. Good luck! It sounds like fun and your hummus looks great!

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  11. I have never had hummus with anything else in it, but peppers and garlic? I am sold on that idea!

    Good luck, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the meal contains.

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  12. What a super fun event! You did a fantastic job so far...I would never have paired apricots with hummus but now that I'm thinking about it...it sounds kind of amazing.

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  13. I am loving your menu and specially the tempting pic of hummus. I am loving the challenge too, but I guess I am not yet ready for that. Will surely do sometime :)

    Best of luck :)

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  14. You amaze me with your full course meals! I feel so accomplished when I get one good course on the table!

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  15. You are my friend Iron Chef, Girlichef!! What a fun challenge, and I think you did awesome, only you would have thought to put apricots with hummus!

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  16. You put together a delicious sounding menu Heather! It's kind of fancy. Love the hummus - and how you snuck the apricots into it.

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  17. Really?! You held that bite right up to the screen? Torture!

    No tahini? I must be naive, I thought that was a must but I've never made may own hummus. It's nice to know I don't need a specialty item after all. Thanks!

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  18. Hey Julie =) Normally I do use tahini (w/ my regular hummus), BUT, since it wasn't one of the items on my list, I couldn't use it. Wasn't allowed! So, this is a bit of a variation ;)

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  19. wow! I love the flavor of this hummus!

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  20. Sounds great! Your menu looks delicious- fantastic use of the ingredients on your list. I love the green beans with the hummus- so creative!

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  21. You did a grand job of incorporating the green beans. The hummus (love,love, LOVE all hummus) is incredible! I think you can live NPR's Lynn Rossetto Kasper a run for her money with this challenge.

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  22. Looks like you did a great job rising to the challenge! As always, impressive.

    btw, I have searched high and low for some purslane in my yard-none to be found (sigh).

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  23. This is the first time I've heard of this event and it sounds really fun! I love that you started with hummus which is one of my favorite things of all time!! And, I have to tell you that I think you incorporated the green beans wonderfully. Not only do they look pretty with the hummus, but they are a perfect no guilt dipper. I love it! Can't wait to see the rest of the menu.

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  24. A very interesting n fun challenge!!
    Hummus with roasted apricots and bell pepper is such a cool idea..I think it will render a very nice flavor!:)
    Green bean as a dipper is also very healthy n creative..loving it!!

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  25. This sounds like a really fun way to enjoy green beans - great job with the challenge!

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  26. Very fun--can't wait to see the rest of your dishes. I love the idea of the roasted apricots and red pepper in the hummus. ;-)

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  27. I've had roasted bell peppers in hummus but not roasted apricots in it as well, sounds delicious!
    This challenge kinda sounds like Iron Chef -- you're Iron girlichef! :)

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  28. Do you ever sleep? Love hummus and this looks wonderful Heather. Great idea using beans as the dipper.

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  29. The hummus with apricots and peppers sounds absolutely fantastic! Fun challenge!

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  30. There are ordinary food bloggers and then there is "Girlichef" an extra-ordinary food blogger....your recipes and food combinations are simply the best! I consider what you write to be very focused on good, healthy, fresh food . . . would you stop on over to my blog hop and link up one of your posts to share! I'd be honored. Roz over at La Bella Vita

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  31. Ah, yum! This looks fantastic! I want some...NOW. Please. =)

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  32. wow that does sound like a yummy variation on the usual thing and great idea using the green beans as your soldiers :)

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