This purée is something between hummus and a blended version of the curry chickpea sauté I make with alarming frequency. It was actually born of the latter when, driving home from work, I contemplated making “the usual” and wondered how I could spice it up. Not literally, of course, since both versions have plenty of spices in them, but in the sense of making it new.

When I got home, I found that I was out of out of garlic and tomatoes, two crucial ingredients. I found reasonable facsimiles: a jar of minced garlic and another jar of sundried tomatoes in oil. While the pre-chopped garlic saved a little time, the sundried tomatoes changed the whole tenor of the dish, making it sweeter, richer.

When puréed, the spices meld as they couldn’t before, and the whole thing becomes this fantastically potent concoction. I dipped rolled up strips of whole wheat wraps in it, but I think it’d be great with crudités as well.

Spiced Chickpea and Sundried Tomato Purée
1/4 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil reserved
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups chickpeas
juice of 1 lemon
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt
dried parsley

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add onion and cook, stirring, until browned.

2. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, lemon juice, and spices. Simmer together, adding water if necessary, until tomatoes and chickpeas are tender but liquid still remains. Season with salt.

3. In batches, purée until tomato is finely chopped. Garnish with parsley.

Italicized items are favorites.