Over the weekend, I got a last minute invite to attend a potluck dinner with some older classmates — it turns out the email had been sent to the wrong Meredith so I didn’t find about about it until just a few hours before!
The hostess told me that I didn’t need to bring anything since I only learned of it at the last minute, but my mama raised me right and I knew I couldn’t show up to a potluck empty handed. The theme was Italian and since I had no tomato, basil, or fresh mozzarella on hand, I had to think outside the box. Immediately my mind went to hummus, which is clearly not from Italy. But I went ahead and threw some chickpeas and garlic cloves in the oven and hoped an idea would hit me.
By the time they were done and I wanted to dive into a vat of roasted garlic cloves and eat my way out (anyone else??), inspiration had struck and chickpea crack dip was invented.
After a quick prep in the food processor and the world’s fastest mascara application, I went to pick up Jake (after I gave him the pie) and we headed over with my crack dip and some baguette for toasting. I toasted the bread and set out the dip a little apprehensively. However, all fear disappeared as the dip disappeared in a matter of seconds and all my classmates voiced their approval. I knew that this recipe was a keeper.
Roasted Garlic and Chickpea Dip (makes about 2 cups)
2 cups chickpeas, drained
5 cloves garlic, whole and peeled
2-3 T olive oil
1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T parsley flakes
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Roast the chickpeas and whole garlic cloves for 25 minutes on 350*. Immediately transfer to a food processor, along with the balsamic vinegar, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Pulse the food pro a few times until the mixture becomes a bit more lumpy and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil until it reaches a smooth, paste-like texture. Serve warm or room temperature with toasted baguette slices!
