Curried Lentil Hummus with Roasted Garlic

The first time I had hummus was about 7 years ago at a Middle Eastern restaurant. They served it in a little boat of endive, topped with diced sun dried tomatoes. Hummus is Middle Eastern and the word itself means "chickpeas." It is traditionally mashed into oblivion with it's counterpart, tahini. However, I did not have any the day I decided to make this. I had garlic that was on the cusp of its prime, a can of garbanzo beans, dried lentils, and peanut butter.

Tahini is basically a sesame seed paste. It is high in oil content and very nutty flavored. Peanut butter is basically peanut paste. It is high in oil content and is very nutty flavored. And my guess is that most people will have peanut butter in their cupboards before they would have tahini. If you have peanut allergies then I recommend going and getting tahini, another nut butter you are not allergic to, or using a very minimal amount of sesame seed oil. Here's how to do it...

Gather form your cupboard:
1/2 c dried lentils*, I used brown
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans
2 whole heads garlic
1 T peanut butter**
1 t curry powder
1/2 t salt
extra virgin olive oil
dash pepper

First, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the top most part of each head of garlic. Place in the middle of a sheet of foil and drizzle with a healthy dose of olive oil.
Wrap up into a nice little package and throw into the oven. It will take about 45 minutes for them to get nice and gooey.

Cook the lentils according to the package.

* I know the measuring cup says 1 cup but it made too much, make only 1/2 cup

When the tip of a knife is able to go right through the top of the garlic clove then they are ready and remove from the oven. The oil will be super hot so don't try to handle right away. The lentils should be done now anyways so pull from the stove and let them cool a bit. 

When the garlic is cooled enough to handle, squeeze the end of each clove and the mushy garlic should come out. Sometimes I use a chop stick to assist me.

Put that in a food processor with the garbanzo beans, lentils, peanut butter, curry powder, salt and pepper.

Pulse while drizzling in the olive oil until you get to your desired texture. I like mine thick and substantial so not a lot of olive oil was necessary. If you like it thinner than keep adding until you get what you want. Easy.

Along with using it as a dip, I use it as a spread, in salad dressing, in baked potatoes, as a base for pizza, and tossed with warm pasta. I once hollowed out cherry tomatoes and piped hummus in, those were cute.
What will you have it with?

**Substitute with sesame seed oil to taste, another nut butter, or tahini.