pranajunkie

Sweet Potato Hummus: A Persian Incarnation

1/7/2018

Hummus has succumbed to the fusion evolution. You may now find hundreds of variations that have not a single ingredient common to the original puree of chic peas, tahini, garlic and lemon.

Hummus is the Arabic word for chic pea. So when someone from the Middle East - where the dish originates - says hummus, they always mean “with chic peas”. (Or garbanzo bean - same thing.) That could mean a dish with the whole legume as an ingredient or it could be the silky puree that has catapulted hummus onto the world stage as some kind of dip.

The transition of hummus to mean any pureed dip, where cooks take great liberties with the ingredients, is far from an unusual phenomenon in the culinary world. Look at curry, for example: it started as a sauce and has spawned an impressive worldwide lineage of variations that are far from its original self.

This is the nature of cuisine and a beautiful thing, if you ask me. Why not allow an accepted idea to morph and evolve through the contribution of innovative ingredients, flavors, techniques? When we approach food, and life, this way, our possibilities are forever expanding.

However, I do believe in maintaining some integrity of the original dish. When I am taking liberties with a traditional recipe, I will always include some key element of the original. So you will never find a hummus recipe from me with neither chic pea nor tahini. The tiny bit of Puritan in me insists.

Otherwise, anything is possible.

Winter squash as well as sweet potatoes make ideal substitutions for chic peas when reinventing hummus. The orange flesh of sweet potatoes, pumpkin or butternut bring a vibrancy that chic peas cannot. I love the sweetness and color they contribute. The rich, bitter silkiness of tahini shares an earthiness that bring the two into a harmony that just makes sense. I prefer these two together to chic pea hummus any day.

I love any recipe that calls for roasted squash or sweet potatoes. There are few easier tasks in the kitchen than throwing one of these onto a baking sheet and into the oven to be forgotten for a bit. (And no peeling required!) Roasting either of these two winter vegetables with the end goal of pureeing means an almost irreverence to the kitchen timer. Let them go awhile (up to an hour) until they’re so soft inside their skins, your job is mostly done for you. Let them cool to the touch, then scoop out the glossy flesh. Discard the skins.

Below is a recipe that simply uses sweet potatoes as a replacement for chic peas. Otherwise the tahini, garlic and lemon juice are standard. A little salt, of course. And a bit of cumin.

A further suggestion is given for taking the sweet potato hummus to the next level of exotic: a Persian incarnation. I’ll go this extra step when I am trying to impress someone. Pomegranate seeds are little jewels, anyway; so they alone make a huge impact. And they’re in season now.

RECIPE
Preheat oven to 350

On a baking sheet, place:
3 pounds sweet potatoes or any kind of sweet winter squash, like butternut
You can leave the sweet potatoes whole. Squash will need to be cut in half and baked cut side down. A little spray of olive oil on the pan will keep it from sticking.

Bake for 1 hour or so, until a fork pierces the skin easily.
Let the sweet potatoes cool slightly and then scoop out the flesh into a food processor or high speed blender.

Add in:
¾ cup Tahini
2 cloves Garlic
Juice of 2 Lemons
2 ½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoon Cumin ground

Process until smooth. Taste and add more of any of the seasonings to your liking.
You could stop here and enjoy this version of the sweet potato hummus with a little olive oil on top, or swirl in some pesto.

PERSIAN VERSION
Or to add the Persian influence, process the following with the ingredients above:

½ Roasted red pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon

And then garnish with any combination of the following:

Pomegranate seeds
Drizzle of pomegranate molasses
Fresh mint, chopped or whole

Recipe copyright Rhona Bowles Kamar 2018