Hummus with Roasted Tomatoes and Smoked Paprika Almonds

Everyone needs a good snack!

Roasted Paprika Almonds

Ingredients:

1 cup whole raw almonds

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika

Fine-grain sea salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss almonds with oil and paprika and season with salt.

Roast until fragrant and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Chop almonds.

Roasted Tomatoes:

Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled and quartered

10 garlic cloves, peeled        

2 rosemary sprigs

3 thyme sprigs

1 green chile, halved lengthwise

¾ cup, plus 2 Tbl Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 pints cherry tomatoes

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 ° In a 9x13 roasting pan add all the ingredients and roast for 20 minutes.

 Loaded Restaurant Style Hummus

Ingredients:

6 Tbl tahini, stirred well

1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

Pinch cayenne

3 Tbl lemon juice combined with ½ cup water (you may use more water to adjust consistency)

2 Tbl Koroneiki Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

In a food processor or blender, process first six ingredients (tahini through cayenne).  Process until almost fully ground. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula.  With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through the lid. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute.

With machine running, add oil in steady stream through the lid; continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy (by drizzling in this way, you are emulsifying the mixture). Stop the machine. Scrape down the sides and replace the lid. Run the processor for a full 4 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt and lemon.

To assemble this dish:

Spread the hummus onto a large plate, Spoon roasted tomatoes on top of hummus with some of the flavored oil.

Sprinkle the chopped almonds on top of the tomatoes.