Halloween Hummus Bites

Amy writes:

Chef Dave, the culinary teacher at school, started up a cooking club for students this year. I decided to join in on the fun, and once every couple of weeks we have a great time cooking up food that is easy to prepare, and then, of course, we eat up!

Being the excellent teacher he is, Chef planned the first meeting as an introduction to the kitchen and to the club. So, instead of club members doing the actual cooking that day (as we do now), he did a demonstration on how to make red pepper hummus. Many of the students had never tried hummus, and when they saw how easy it was and tasted how delicious, they were hooked. Meanwhile, I now had my plan for a simple appetizer to serve as our neighbors came around on Halloween night! Notice the festive colors, perfect for Halloween, and sort of spooky looking, too!

Halloween Hummus Bites

Makes 24 "bites"

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice, to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 packages mini fillo shells (found in frozen food aisle)

24 whole black olives, pitted

Place chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and all but one roasted red pepper in a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix, then slowly drizzle in olive oil while processing until smooth. Take fillo shells out of package and place on a serving tray. Carefully spoon red-pepper hummus into fillo shells. Chop remaining red pepper into small pieces. Stuff the red pepper pieces into the hole in the olive. Top each filled fillo shell with the stuffed olive and serve at room temperature.