This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Hummus with spicy red pepper makes a feast of a lunch. Keep homemade smooth hummus at the ready in the refrigerator, then the red pepper is a snap to prepare. The aroma of the saute is as divine as the hummus topped with red pepper is to eat. This recipe is vegan!, and gluten-free if eaten without the pita bread.
For many people, the drive to get back on track hits hard at the New Year. Me, Iโm still eating donuts at that point.
Come February, thank heavens just past birthday cake season, I pick myself up and get serious about making some changes. Stimulus is Lent, that annual opportunity many of us have to take a closer look at oneself, and to work on shedding whatever it is that needs to go.
From a spiritual standpoint, this can get tricky, and the journey inward is worthwhile. From a physical standpoint (not unlinked to the spiritual of course), itโs plain and simple: Iโve got to take better care of the feeding and watering of me.
Iโve focused heavily over the last few years on my regrettable breakfast practices (see this, this, this). While the healthy breakfast is an ongoing effort, I notice another meal of the day takes a continual hit. By that I mean lunch, which I rarely eat.
When I mentioned to Cindy recently that I donโt eat lunch, her eyes got huge in a kind of disbelief. I LOVE LUNCH!, was all she said. I do too!, I said. And I do. But I just donโt eat it. I take a lot of spouse-pride in sending Dan off with his brown bag more mornings than not, a Danny lunch filled with baggies of vegetables, fruit, cheese, nuts, water, and some kind of protein-y wrap. Granted, he texts me around 8:30 a.m. to say how good the lunch was, but no matter when he eats it, at least he is eating a good portion of the pyramid. Often, thatโs more than I can say for myself.
I could keep a food journal to see whatโs really getting in there every day, but thatโs the kind of reality Iโm going to go ahead and avoid. I could try the Whole30, but, well, NO WAY.
When I was doing my bridal boot camp several years back, I ate health-packed breakfasts and a decent lunch. That satisfied, full feeling prevented my hand from wandering over to snap off a piece of chocolate (and then another, and another, and so on) mid-afternoon. Iโm all for a little daily chocolate, but when youโre hungry and you havenโt eaten many calories, you think you can justify more than a little chocolate. Itโs not really thinking at all; itโs visceral, primal hunger that takes over and grabs whatever is easiest and most enticing and fast-processing. Then, with just chocolate to run on for human fuel, you feel nothing but ridiculous, especially when food and the Mediterranean Diet and all of that, are your thing.
So here we are. Lunch needs some T.L.C.
Given that the primary reason lunch takes a hit is time, I know that having lunch-ready healthy food is key. Keeping the refrigerator equipped with things like homemade laban and smooth hummus and tons of vegetables, I can get after it with relative ease.
Hummus is, as so many have let me know over the years, more foundational base for a meal than a dip in Lebanon. Here, we dip and we do it well; I donโt apologize for that.
But I do love the incredibly satisfying meal that can be made with a little plate, a hefty dollop of smooth hummus, and a topping of unceasing choices. Traditional hummus kwarma, sautรฉed marinated lamb shoulder, makes us very happy, very very happy. Lately, and because of the fasting part of Lent and because I like to reduce the meat intake in general, I’ve wanted a vegetarian option that is just as satisfying as the lamb.
Enter red bell pepper, sautรฉed in olive oil just until warm but still with some body and tooth to it. You could marinate the pepper, but thereโs plenty of flavor to be had with sumac, garlic, and fresh herbs. Finish this one off with infused hot chili oil, and Iโm telling you!! Dan got wind of my new lunch program and tells me his cold-cut style lunch is just not going to cut it when he knows Iโm home eating this.
Lunch, Iโll never forsake you again.
More Hummus Recipes
Hummus topped with Spicy Sauteed Red Pepper
Ingredients
- 1 cup smooth hummus, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, cut in 1- to 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons infused chili oil
- Few sprigs cilantro, mint, or parsley (or all three), finely chopped
Instructions
- Spoon the hummus onto a 6-inch plate and turn the back of the spoon around the middle of the dollop to create a well with โwalls.โ
- In a medium sautรฉ pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the red pepper and stir to coat with the oil. Season with sumac, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Continue to sautรฉ until the pepper pieces are blistered and charred in spots, but still have some crunch to the texture, about 10 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and a tablespoon of the chili oil, and continue to cook just until fragrant, less than one minute.
- Spoon the pepper into the well of the hummus plate. Drizzle with the remaining oil and finish with a dusting of chopped fresh herbs. Eat immediately with pita bread, or all on its own.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
