sweet corn and jalapeño hummus

Have I told you all before that I have a gas stove now? Well, I have a gas stove now. This may seem like a mundane factoid, but to me it's pretty epic. Life changing, even. You see, in all the houses/duplexes/apartments I've ever lived in through all my years, never have I ever had a gas stove. Just electric, which we all know to be the inferior stove life form. I must be moving up in the world.

So, you know what I did with my gas stove the other day? I charred me some jalapeños. Right over that open flame. So much easier than heating up the oven, preparing a baking sheet, squatting down and watching through the little window to make sure they don't burn. That's all for the birds. I busted out my tongs and straight up charred those peppers like I was a regular Bobby Flay. Watch out world, I'm cooking with fire now!

And then I made hummus with them. That sounds decidedly less exciting than cooking with fire, but, well, the hummus was really really yummy, okay? This is a Mexican version of hummus made with corn and charred jalapeños. It's spicy from the jalapeños and fluffy from the corn and I made entire meals out of this hummus and a big bag or tortilla chips. It's just that good.

Sidenote: You would think the most dangerous activity here would be charring food over an open flame. Think again. I learned the hard way that jalapeño burns are no joke! There may or may not be an embarrassing photo on my Facebook of me with my hands covered in yogurt and wrapped in plastic wrap after making several batches of jalapeño poppers for Cinco de Mayo a few years back. Word to the wise, yogurt and plastic wrap does not, in fact, cure jalapeño burns. Your best bet: ice packs and time. You've been warned...

Sweet Corn and Jalapeno Hummus

Ingredients:
2 medium jalapeños
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sweet yellow corn
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
To roast the jalapenos, preheat the broiler in your oven and place peppers on a baking sheet. Broil on all sides, flipping once charred. Remove and let cool completely. Additionally, you can grill or even “roast” the peppers on your gas stove – whatever is easiest for you! Once cooled, chop off the tops and slice the peppers down the middle, remove the seeds and chop.

Add chickpeas, corn and peppers to the food processor. Blend until combined, then slowly stream in olive oil with the processor running. Add in salt and pepper, then blend once more. Taste and season more if desired. Serve with pita or tortilla chips.

Yield: ~1 1/2 cups

Source: How Sweet It Is