Hot Bacon Cherry Pepper Hummus with Pizza Pita Chips.
I’ve got this problem.
As usual, I’m the annoyingly early person to EVERYTHING (seriously I probably spend an embarrassing amount of time in the car just waiting for things to begin because I’m so early, oh and catching flights? I will gladly sit at the gate for two hours rather than be the last one running on the plane…) – except trends, and well, things that would be really cool if shared before a certain event.
Like this hummus. It sort of looks like a Christmas wreath, no?
Only 35 DAYS TO LATE.
Any wreathing was completely unintentional as I sprinkled cherry peppers and crunchy bacon and herb leaves on top.
Then I looked and thought whyyyyyy. Why must I always think of an idea a few minutes too late? Whomp whomp. I’m so behind the times.
Regardless, I’ll remind you of this 37 times before next Christmas. Just in case. Do not fear.
And! It makes for an even BETTER recipe for Super Bowl weekend because bacon! cherry peppers! pizza pitas!
I can’t take credit for the idea of this recipe. I spied it on serious eats because Eddie and I have been in crazy hummus mode. We go through phases where we aren’t interested in it for a month or two and then bam – our fridge has two family sized containers and we demolish them in one weekend. Do you get me? The hummus obsession is real.
So this past weekend when we were “snowed in” – and I used the term “snowed in” lightly because yes, while there were a few hours that we shouldn’t (and couldn’t) have been on the roads, it was just that: a few hours.
Nothing too terrible, but the issue was that we were hummusless. Without the hummus, if you will. And we were craving some like mad.
Thankfully I had a billion cans of beans on hand, because that’s what my life has come to now. I found some leftover tahini in the fridge and this idea on the good old internets and went.to.town.
Here’s why I love it so much: if you’ve been reading for a while then you know that one of my family’s favorite salads is a hot bacon salad. The hot bacon dressing just does it every time. I actually haven’t had one since I made this version. My grandma used to get one once every other month or so – she LOVED them. My mom loves them too.
So the minute I saw HOT BACON in the description my life with over. I was making this, if I had the ingredients or not. I would shovel my way to the grocery store and back. I’m sure I could have fit a few bags of beans in my Uggs. (< questionable life choices, behind the times. please see above.)
It didn’t come to that. It came to this! I had everything because you might know that we are also slightly fanatical about cherry peppers. In fact, just this moment I realized I have my life trifecta of recipes made with cherry peppers: burgers, pizza, tacos. Bingo! And see, Trader Joes has big jars of them and I always stock up. Like, embarrassingly stock up.
Oh so yes yes, let’s get the pink elephant out of the room. There is bacon grease drizzled on this hummus.
I said it.
I can’t.
Don’t hate me. (name that TV show for ten points.)
Really, it’s not a requirement. The majority of the flavor comes from the hummus itself and the topping of crunchy bacon mixed with cherry peppers. You don’t NEEEEEED to add bacon grease.
But if you love me, then you will. Not to be manipulative or anything.
The pizza pitas are kind of faked pizza with spice though. They are perfectly crunchy and so delicious. No melty cheese or sauce or pepperoni, but more like the pizza spices that I use when mixing dough or toppings. Some oregano, basil, crushed red pepper, garlic, onion, salt, pepper – and parmesan, of course. I swear that it’s quite pizza-y without the… pizza. Let’s made this a thing?
Also, the amount of parmesan cheese in our fridge may be a sin. In fact it is, I’m sure. Gluttony at it’s finest.
Hot Bacon Cherry Pepper Hummus with Pizza Pita Chips
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped (plus, the reserved bacon grease)
- 2 (25-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup tahini paste
- 1 cup cherry peppers
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
pizza spiced pita
- 1 batch homemade pita bread or store bought work!
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon onion flakes
- 1 tablespoons fine grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
hummus
- Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook until crispy and the fat is rendered, then remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain. Turn off the heat from under the skillet. You want to keep the bacon grease warm, and if you make the hummus to serve right now, it probably will be. Otherwise, heat some over low heat until warm.
- In your food processor, add the chickpeas, tahini, 3 or 4 cherry peppers, the lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Puree until the chickpeas break down and the mixture starts to come together (it probably won’t be smooth). Make sure to scrape the sides with a spatula. Drizzle in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease and blend. Drizzle in the ice water. Once the water is in, the hummus should really start to get smooth – if you need a little more water, add it 1 tablespoon at a time. And you can always add extra bacon grease, just save some for the garnish!
- Once the hummus is smooth, taste and season additionally if desired. You might want a little more salt and pepper.
- Chop up the remaining cherry peppers and place them in a bowl with the bacon. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease and toss. Toss in the fresh oregano. It really is wonderful to have this warm, so when you combine the ingredients, you can always do so in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Spoon the hummus into a bowl and top with the cherry pepper bacon mixture. You can stir it in or leave it on top. Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease (preferably still warm) over to. Serve immediately with the pita!
pizza spiced pita
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the pitas into triangles and brush with melted butter. In a bowl, mix together all of the spices, from the salt to the onion, and stir in the cheese. Sprinkle the seasoning over the pitas. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly golden and crisp.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
serious bowl faceplant.
37 Comments on “Hot Bacon Cherry Pepper Hummus with Pizza Pita Chips.”
You just have me begging the question, ahem, how hot is that bacon? Cause bacon is hot stuff around our house. And for some insane reason, I’ve never thought to include it in dip before. Silly gym teacher here! The homemade pita bread looks stellar, time to dip dip dip. Yum. And now that I don’t have to deal with Tom Brady being in the Superbowl which based on my Facebook feed is a good thing, I’m happy to dip.
Actually, eating this dip while watching TB12 in the Super Bowl is kinda perfect. :)
And remember that 80’s song, “you put your hand up on my hip, when you dip, I dip, you dip” I can’t be the only one here! It was really popular. Hehe.
I’m always early to things to. I get lots of reading done waiting… The bacon on this hummus was a fantastic idea!
Sex and the City! The Post-it breakup.
I know you say photographing is your least favorite part of blogging, but your photos are seriously stunning! Looking back on your 2010 photos, omg!
YESSSSS of course. And thank you so much!!
So excited because I seriously have all of these ingredients on hand right now and have been looking for something to do with my cherry peppers. Oh, happy day!
woohoo! let me know if you try.
That looks flipping amazing! loving all the extras to pimp it up.
holy moly!! three of my favourite things- bread, hummus and bacon! certainly looks delicious! sensational photography as well :)
Jess – YAAASSS!!! this is seriously stunning, absolutely dying over that first photo! spicy hummus is my thang and I love the added pizza pitas, this is fab! x
thank you!
Now this is the kind of hummus I like. Bacon really does make everything better.
Love finding new hummus recipes! Especially when bacon (and the grease!) are involved. By the way… Pizza pita..definitely needs to happen.
….now you’re talking my speed. Hummus and whatever is in the fridge, there I go again with the fridge thing.
No, really it’s hummus and bean salad, or broccoli salad, which Market Basket makes so good!
If I’m feeling plain…..never…..Extra virgin olive oil, toasted sesames and fresh squeezed lemon.
Can’t forget the pita chips and that’s it. Now this will be my go to Hummus meal for breaks from my computer work.
Thank you.
that is the story of our lives! hummus + fridge leftovers, always.
Holy cow, this looks incredible! I’m typically pretty nit-picky with my hummus (something about me being a snobby Arab), but I love the sound of this. And who can get mad at deviations from tradition when it’s delicious!
http://yourownqueen.blogspot.com
snobby arab… ha! nothing beats traditional GOOD hummus though. it’s so true.
This looks delicious and will be perfect for a SuperBowl party!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
It looks so good! Definitely something to try on a weekend x
http://jessicawoods.fr
This looks FANTASTIC! Can’t wait to make it.
Also, I am always embarrassingly early. Last night I wanted to die. I was going to a cooking class at my local grocery store and I showed up a casual 50 minutes early…so I walked around the store for 20 minutes then figured I’d head up to the classroom. I entered the room and was like “Hi! I’m early, but I’ll just sit down” and they were like “uhhhhh, the class actually starts at 6:30” (half an hour later) and then proceeded to ESCORT ME OUT OF THE ROOM. I was mortified. Maybe it was a life lesson, but I’d rather show up 30 minutes early for EVERYTHING than be 1 minute late.
YES THIS IS MY LIFE! I can’t tell you how many times something like that has happened to me.
????
This looks amazing!!!
Oh my god! Bacon in hummus? And pizza spiced pita chips? I think you’ve just created the best combination of flavors ever! And as for being late for Christmas, I’m always like that! There goes Valentine’s Day, there goes Thanksgiving. I can always post next year. But I want to post now. So I’ll end up with a cranberry apple pie with pie crust leaf cutouts in mid December. Oops.
My mother-in-law, who was half Lebaneses, taught me to add the liquid from the canned chickpeas to then out the hummus. Makes it smoother than water.
This looks so wonderful!!
I’ll fight you for hummus any day! That stuff is addicting..heck I even made a basil hummus donut for the blog before!
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Sex and The City!
Haha I love it! I say it almost everyday to my kids when they get mad because they don’t get everything they want. Ir actually goes:
I’m sorry.
I can’t.
Don’t hate me.
This hummus is genius! I am doing it this week. Have you tried to peel the chickpeas? It takes a little longer but not that much and the result is just incredible.
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Can I replace the bacon with chicken ?
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I’m wanting to take this to a holiday party but am not finding cherry peppers at Trader Joes. My local store has some but they seem to come sweet and spicy or hot. Sweet and spicy doesn’t seem right for this recipe. Are the TJ’s usually spicy?
Thanks! Love your recipes!
This recipe was a huge hit with my family and friends. This made a HUGE batch that I was able to share with everyone. My bacon did not give off nearly enough bacon grease for the full recipe, however the end result was still good. The pizza pita chips were also incredible!