Roasted and pickled pepper dip, preserved lemon hummus

Sometimes life gives you lemons and you make preserved lemons. And then eventually you have just one left. Sometimes at the farmers market you succumb to the charm of cute little hot cherry peppers and make pickled peppers. And then eventually you have just one left.

It's this sort of thing that Marisa McClellan's book, "The Food in Jars Kitchen," addresses admirably. She's written previously about putting up food in jars. This book addresses what to do with that abundance. Sure, you can always put your jam on toast, your pickles on sandwiches and other obvious usages. But sometimes you've got so much on hand that you're looking for alternative uses. And sometimes you've got just one left.

Roasted red pepper, pepperoncini  and feta dip

Adapted from “The Food in Jars Kitchen” by Marisa McClellan.

Ingredients

1¼ cup drained roasted red peppers

1 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (reserve oil)

½ cup drained pepperoncini rings or other pickled hot peppers

2 garlic cloves, chopped

8 ounces crumbled feta

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup olive oil, or a combo pack of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

Method

In a food processor, combine red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pickled peppers and garlic. Process until well chopped. Add feta and cream cheese and process until smooth. With motor running, add oil in a stream. Add herbs and pulse until chopped.

Rating: Pretty tasty. Works as a dip for veggies or naan, or as a spread on hamburgers and such. I'd make it again when I've got those ingredients to use. (I used that one remaining pickled cherry tomato and part of a jar of pickled jalapenos I'd already opened.) Obviously the hotter the peppers you use, the hotter the dip. This combo was more like a pleasant background heat.

Makes a party-size amount, so if you’re just preparing it for the household, you might consider chopping the recipe in half. But it does keep fairly well.

Preserved lemon hummus

Adapted from “The Food in Jars Kitchen” by Marisa McClellan. If you don't have a preserved lemon, the author suggests substituting the zest and juice from 1 lemon and an additional ½ teaspoon of salt.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves (or more)

¾ cup water

¾ cup tahini

1 preserved lemon, chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste

2 cans chickpeas (or 4 cups fresh cooked), drained, with some liquid reserved

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)

Olive oil for drizzling

Method

Warm chickpeas in a pan or in a microwave safe dish until they’re heated through.

In a food processor, mince the garlic. Add water, tahini, preserved lemon, salt and cumin and process until smooth.

Add warmed chickpeas and process for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with lemon juice, more cumin and more salt as needed. Process until smooth. Serve drizzled with olive oil.

Rating: Possibly the creamiest hummus I’ve ever made. Warming the beans is a genius tip when you’re using canned chickpeas, which generally aren’t very tender. Flavorwise, even though I wound up doubling the amount of preserved lemon and cumin called for (and the recipe listed above reflects that doubling) and added more lemon juice, it was pretty subtle. Tasty, and very creamy, but if I make it again I’d opt to boost the flavor quotient even more. 

There are a lot more fun things to do with a preserved lemon, but at least now I don't have the monstrously big jar of brine with one remaining lemon clogging up precious frig space that could be taken up by quickles if I get around to it.