Used by permission from The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook : Recipes and Techniques for Whole Plant Cooking by Linda Ly from Harvard Common Press.
While sweet potatoes are generally associated with sweet flavors, this savory and spicy hummus will have you thinking about them in new ways. A blend of tender sweet potatoes and smoky spices changes up the usual hummus routine of garlic and tahini (and gives it a brilliant orange color). It makes an addictive dip for flatbread, pita chips, carrot sticks, celery nubs, and the list goes on. I’ll sometimes smear it onto a Mediterranean- style wrap with roasted vegetables; the creaminess eliminates the need for a messy sauce.
Ingredients
- •1 pound (455 g) sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
- •1 can (15 ounces, or 425 g) of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- •4 garlic cloves
- •¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, plus more for serving
- •1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- •1 teaspoon ground cumin
- •½ teaspoon kosher salt
- •Zest of 1 lemon
- •Juice of ½ lemon
- •Smoked paprika for serving
Preparation
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and boil until very soft, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving about ½ cup (120 ml) of the water, and let cool.
Add the remaining ingredients (except the smoked paprika) to a food processor and pulse continuously until smooth. If you’re sensitive to spice, I suggest starting with only ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper and adding more to taste. As your mixture transforms into creamy hummus, you can add some of the reserved sweet potato water (1 tablespoon [15 ml] at a time) if you prefer a looser consistency. Serve with a generous swirl of oil on top and a dusting of smoked paprika.
Cook’s note:
I use orange-fleshed sweet potatoes as they tend to be softer and smoother than the white-fleshed variety when cooked, and they blend beautifully with creamy chickpeas.
If you have the time and inclination, soaking and cooking your own chickpeas will take this hummus to another level. You’ll need about 2 cups (328 g) of cooked chickpeas (from about 2/3 cup [133 g] dried chickpeas) for this recipe. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with using the canned chickpeas recommended here. They’re readily available and store easily in the pantry for those spur-of-the-moment hummus cravings.