Sicilian Chickpea Spread

Now that my refrigerator is free of any Thanksgiving leftovers, (which I'm certain would not yet be the case if we had hosted, as we have done for the past 5 years), I am ready to move on to some simple, fresh foods. Like this Sicilian Chickpea Spread I made from a recipe that I recently found in the monthly flyer from my natural foods store. A creamy hummus-like dip, it uses toasted pine nuts in the place of tahini and gets a boost of flavor from roasted red pepper and fresh basil. While I originally whipped it up for snack to go with with cut veggies and pita, I discovered it makes a pretty awesome addition to a sandwich.

When putting this together, I used slightly less pine nuts and olive oil than it called for, just to reduce the fat by a teeny bit, and found it completely not lacking with these adjustments. Because this was too easy of recipe and I needed to complicate it somehow, I roasted my own red pepper, but you could use a jarred one and have this made in about five minutes. This spread can be eaten immediately, but I think it's even better once it's had a chance to chill a while.

Sicilian Chickpea Spread

adapted slightly from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers (as found in NGR's November 2010 Store Flyer)

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, toasted

1 (15.5 oz) can of chickpeas, drained

1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded

1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup packed basil leaves

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor, seasoning with a few pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper, and process for 2-3 minutes or until light and creamy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if needed. For best flavor, chill before serving.