I’ll admit, the first time I tried hummus I wasn’t impressed. It very dry, over-powered with garlic and rather unpalatable — not a recipe I felt obliged to try! But after sampling a few store bought varieties — roasted red pepper, caramelized onion — I thought maybe hummus wasn’t so bad after all. Then I found a recipe for Sweet Potato Hummus at Alaska from Scratch which converted me to the ‘pulse side’ of snacking! I adapted it to use heart-healthy canola oil and incorporated a few great tips from a Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus recipe at Nita at Carrots & Cake. The result — a family favourite, kid-approved, delicious, addictive, smooth and creamy hummus!
Roasted Sweet Potato & Garlic Hummus
Main Ingredients:
- 1 medium sweet potato (approx 1 lb or 500 grams), drizzle of canola oil
- 1 – 19 oz (540 ml) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 3 cloves *roasted garlic or 1 raw garlic clove
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp)
- 1/4 cup hemp hearts (optional)
Spice Mixture:
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
Garnish options:
- Parsley
- Green onions
- Hemp hearts
- Roasted chickpeas
- Grated or ground nutmeg
- Paprika
- Cayenne Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Lemon rind
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Scrub the sweet potato & dry thoroughly. Pierce the skin 2-3 times with a knife or fork and lightly coat with a drizzle of canola oil.
- Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 45 min — 1 hour, until tender. (If you cut sweet potato in half, reduce time to ~ 30 minutes)
- Let cool, peel off skin, cut off any dark spots and cut into 4 —5 cm pieces.
- *If roasting garlic, toss cloves with a bit of canola oil, wrap in foil & place on baking sheet with the sweet potato. Garlic will take less time to roast so remove from oven after about 30 minutes.
- Drain & thoroughly rinse chickpeas.
- Toss chickpeas, sweet potato, garlic, canola oil, lemon juice, hemp hearts (if desired) & spice mixture into blender or food processor
- . Blend well, scraping down as needed. If it isn’t as smooth & creamy as you’d like, add more canola oil (or water), a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches desired consistency.
To serve, drizzle with canola oil and top with your choice of garnishes. Serve with crackers & raw veggies. This also makes a wonderful spread for sandwiches or wraps. Basically this hummus is so good, you will get very creative in finding ways to use it, other than just eating it ‘straight-up’ with a spoon — which, by the way, is totally acceptable!
Notes:
- Roasted garlic is sweeter & less overpowering than raw garlic, hence only use 1 clove if opting for raw. My family loves it either way!
- Hemp hearts will add a nutty flavour & slightly change the consistency of the hummus, but they also add protein, fibre & healthy fats.
- Encourage creativity in the kitchen by letting the kids help. They love to personalize their snack by choosing their own garnishes, crackers & veggies.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 -5 days, if it lasts that long…
Sandi Knight 