Spiced Pumpkin Hummus With Sage

It’s pumpkin season and for me there can be no better way to celebrate than to use pumpkin in my favourite dishes like hummus. So here is my spiced pumpkin hummus with sage, rich, packed with flavour and a seasonal must!

Spiced Pumpkin Hummus With Sage

I make hummus all the time. It’s my go-to snack to have for lunch. Or let’s face it for lying on the sofa in the evening stuffing my face with a bowl of hummus and a bag of crisps.

Of course, I could lie and say I have a beautiful array of nicely chopped veggies all set out with my pumpkin hummus. But that’s for when friends are round. When it’s just me I’m a little more basic. Sorry about that….

What is hummus

Don’t just think of hummus in terms of that beige spread you find in the supermarket. Hummus is a dip or spead hailing from the Middle East.

Made from garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), tahini (sesame seed paste) lemon, garlic and olive oil.

It’s incredibly tasty and good for you too.

Check out my other hummus recipes here;

How to make traditional hummus

Spring pea hummus

Pumpkin

This has to be the most famous of all those delicious winter squashes. Not just for it’s ability to be transformed into amazing works of art in the hands of pumpkin carvers and just bog-standard pumpkin lantern in the hands of the rest of us.

No, pumpkin is just about the most useful of all the winter veggies. You can whip it up into something savoury like soups and risottos and curries too.

At the same time it can be transformed into all sorts of sweet goodies from the classic pumpkin pie to ice-creram.

The pumpkin is truly verastile and deserves it’s crown of glory.

Can you use the flesh from a pumpkin lantern

It is always such a tragedy that so many pumpkins get wasted every year. Oh they do their bit at Halloween by making the kids smile and scaring away the ghosties.

But then they are hurled into the bin without another thought.

If you don’t use a real candle inside your pumpkin lantern (use a battery operated tealight instead) then you can easily use the pumpkin flesh to make this delicious spiced pumpkin hummus and lots of other recipes too.

Ingredients for pumpkin hummus

Pumpkin of course!

Chickpeas

Tahini (sesame seed paste)

lemon juice

Olive oil

Garlic

Spices are what bring this simple hummus to life. I have used a mixture of ground cumin, chilli flakes  and ground coriander

Sage

How to peel a pumpkin

First things first. You have to get at that all-important pumpkin flesh. Now it is all too easy to cut yourself when peeling a pumpkin.

They are large somewhat unwieldy vegetables and hacking at them with a knife can be tricky.

The best thing to do is cut the pumpkin into pieces. I start by cutting in in half and then quarters and so on. Eventually ending up with pieces of pumpkin about 2″/5cm in size.

At this size it is super easy just to stand the piece of pumpkin on your chopping board and slice off the skin in one move.

So much easier than trying to thinly slice off huge wodges of peel and having the pumpkin skitter about all over the table.

How to make spiced pumpkin hummus

Having successfully peeled your pumpkin and avoided ending up in casualty it’s time to make your hummus.

First, you want to roast the pumpkin in the oven along with the garlic and sage.

Then simply whizz it up along with the chickpeas, tahini paste, seasoning, spices and olive oil.

That’s it, your spiced pumpkin hummus is made.

Finishing touches

Serve your pumpkin hummus with a fried sage leaf on top. Frying sage leaves makes them taste amazing so it’s not just for effect. It’s an edible topping just like the seeds I’ve used too. I’ve used a mixture of seeds to top my hummus but you can simply use toasted pumpkin seeds.

Why waste those pumpkin seeds

Toast the seeds either in a dry pan for about 3 minutes till they start to jump about when you push them with a wooden spoon and get a bit of colour on them. Or pop them on a baking tray in the oven for about ten minutes to roast.pumpkin

Why roast the garlic?

I do this because I love the smooth mellow taste of roasted garlic. It has a real depth of flavour and almost a sweet nuttiness that garlic simply doesn’t possess in its raw form.

Since you have the oven on anyway and are roasting the pumpkin you might as well chuck the garlic in there too.

I promise you, you will adore the flavour of this roasted garlic.

How to serve pumpkin hummus

I serve mine as it is with crisps (what an admission!) and also with veggies or bread to dip in.

As a dip with warm pitta breads is, of course, the traditional way to serve any hummus.

Don’t just think of your pumpkin hummus as a dip though. Use it dolloped into a bowl of hearty warming soup to kick up the flavour a bit.

Stir pumpkin hummus through pasta.

Stuff it into a pitta alongside felafel or souflaki.

How long will pumpkin hummus keep?

This will keep in the fridge for up to a week in a covered dish. Can you freeze pumpkin hummus? Yes, just pop it into a freezer bag or into ice cube tray. It will freeze for up to 3 months.

Looking for more tasty pumpkin recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Pumpkin and coconut soup with fresh basil

Pumpkin and sage risotto

Perfect pickled pumpkin

Pumpkin preserve/jam

Pumpkin and tomato soup

All you ever wanted to know about pumpkin and it’s various uses!

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