Pumpkin Hummus

My goodness, I’ve been a terrible blogger this week! I feel that between all of the birthdays and driving I just haven’t had the time or energy to do a proper entry for you all, I hope you’ll forgive me! 😉 But, let me assure you that this recipe is totally worth the wait, I’m pretty addicted to it already and ate some for breakfast this morning.

This time, instead of using the pumpkin that I had already baked from Halloween, I had to bake a small one whose skin had been compromised and needed to be eaten! Usually, all I do for the roasting is:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Chop off the stem
3. Scoop out the seeds
4. Slice it into wedges or smaller pieces
5. Place the pieces into a casserole dish that has a 1/4-1/2″ of water in the bottom of it
6. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the flesh is soft

As for the chickpeas, I use dried ones and soak them for a couple of hours the day before I’m going to use them. Doing this cuts the cooking time considerably, and they taste way better than canned chickpeas (which you could use if that’s what you have on hand). After soaking the chickpeas, I boil them covered in water with a pinch of salt until they are soft (15-20) minutes. You could also use canned, unsweetened pumpkin for this recipe if that is all you have.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 Cups Cooked Chickpeas
• 2 Cups Cooked Pumpkin Flesh
• 2 Tbsp. Tahini
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 3-4 Cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Paprika
• Optional: Water or more lemon juice to get a smoother, more fluid consistency

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and puree until smooth, or until the consistency is to your liking. If you choose to add water, add very little at a time so that it is not too liquid-y.

Serve with veggie sticks (wish I had some of those right now!) or chips, maybe use in a sandwich? Man, this is making me hungry! Another option is to just eat it with a spoon, that’s what I’ve found myself most taken with. 😉 Try this recipe out and you will not regret it!