Tasty White Bean Hummus with Red Pepper Paste

Cook the beans:

1. Soak the gigante beans in water for at least 16 hours. After soaking, drain and place the beans in a medium-sized pot filled with 750 ml of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium.
2. Add the stock, garlic, thyme, oregano, the bay leaf, onion, carrot and celery, and cook covered  for 1- 1½ hours until the beans are soft and tender. Set the beans aside to cool.

Prepare the red pepper paste:

1. In a small baking pan, roast peppers, garlic and chillies at 220° C for 15 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan place in a bowl and cover with cling film.

2. Roast the peppers for another 20 minutes or until they reach a deep, blackened colour on the outside. Add the peppers to the bowl with the garlic. Cover again with the cling film.

3. Allow to cool slightly before peeling the skin from all the peppers. The skin should come off quickly.

4. Add the peeled roasted peppers, thyme, paprika, tomato paste, vinegar and walnuts in a food processor and blend until you have a smooth paste. Season with salt.

Prepare the hummus aromatic oil:

1. In a pan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic and the sprigs of fresh thyme for  about 5 minutes. Discard the garlic, keep the thyme and oil.

Prepare the hummus:

1. Drain the beans reserving a cup of the cooking liquid. Discard the rest of the ingredients.

2. Add the beans in a blender or food processor along with 40 ml of the aromatic oil. Blend, adding a bit of the cooking liquid to loosen the mixture. Continue blending until the mixture is creamy and smooth, adding more cooking liquid as needed.  Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.

To serve:

1. Spoon the hummus onto a plate and spread with the back of a spoon, creating a small indentation in the middle.  Add the red pepper paste in the middle.

2. Drizzle with the remaining aromatic oil. Sprinkle with the fried thyme and chopped walnuts (optional) on the top. Serve at room temperature.