Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Hummus with Goat Cheese

Hummus has long been a popular easy summer meal solution. Also a delightful appetizer to serve to guests, such a simple indulgence will likewise bring comfort to the staunchest of hermits. Once the beans are cooked, and a few things roughly chopped, everything goes into a food processor and in minutes, you have a healthy legume dip to serve with raw vegetables and slices of pita bread or perhaps some Whole Meal Biscuits - assuming you can resist the urge to eat it by the spoonful, in large quantities. Honestly, I could eat vats of this stuff, which might account for the large quantity this recipe yields. Imagine 4 cups of good nourishment dressed up as decadence.

This is a riff on my favorite trio of sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and olives. Inspired by memories of Olive Tapenade, Olive Hummus, and Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, this new favorite was born and consumed with pleasure. For a vegan version, simply omit the goat cheese.

Enjoy with a full-bodied glass or two or three of Ruffino.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Hummus with Goat Cheese

1 cup of dried chickpeas (roughly 2 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas)
2/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup of tahini
juice from one lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large jalapeno pepper, roughly chopped
generous 2/3 cup of kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup of goat cheese
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
1/3 cup of fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of olive oil
sea salt to taste

Soak the chickpeas overnight in enough water to cover. Drain, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover and simmer until the beans are buttery soft - roughly 1 - 2 hours. Drain and set aside.

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for 15 - 20 minutes. Reserve the soaking liquid and roughly chop the tomatoes.

Reserve a few olives for garnishing, along with a few chopped olives to stir into the processed hummus for added texture.

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, a few tablespoons of the reserved sun-dried tomato soaking liquid, jalapeno pepper, cumin, cayenne, paprika, goat cheese, olive oil, parsley and sea salt. Process until all of the ingredients are well combined. Add more of the reserved sun-dried tomato liquid to achieve your desired consistency.

Stir in the reserved olive bits and garnish with a few whole olives and some sprigs of parsley.