Smokey Sweet Potato Hummus + Hummus Tips

Hello! I’m so happy to be writing another blog post, especially one about my favorite food to make and eat: HUMMUS!

I make a lot of hummus (and eat a lot of hummus… like, in every meal #noshame), and over time, I’ve picked up a few tricks on how to make my ideal hummus. Of course, this is my favorite hummus; it may not be your favorite hummus, though I am inclined to think you’ll like it! Also, it’s not exactly traditional. But, tradition aside, I seriously adore this hummus! And so, here is a quick run-down of the little things that make awesome homemade hummus:

1. Heat up your chickpeas and the liquid from the can together before processing your hummus. This softens the canned chickpeas, making a smoother finished product.
2. If you don’t want to use oil in your hummus, and for what it’s worth, I never do, reserve the liquid from the can. Then, when the rest of your ingredients are blended, add the liquid as you wish to thin out the hummus. The liquid from the can loosens up the hummus in a pleasing way without making it watery. However, I only do this when I’m using organic canned chickpeas.
3. Make your hummus a bit looser than you would like it to be! This is because once you refrigerate your hummus, it will thicken up. So, to prevent  pasty hummus (unless you want that… you do you), make it a little looser at the start.
4. Cooked vegetables can be great in hummus. However, in my experience, it’s way more worthwhile to actually bake them than to microwave them. I’ve made sweet potato hummus with microwaved sweet potato before, and it had next to no flavor! Since then, I’ve made a point of baking my sweet potatoes. Trust me, it’s so much better!

Smoky Sweet Potato Hummus

inspired by Choosing Raw’s Sweet Potato Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can organic chickpeas, un-rinsed, with can liquid reserved

1/4 cup roasted tahini

juice of one medium lemon

flesh of 1 baked sweet potato of average size

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 cup reserved can liquid

Method:

Place chickpeas and can liquid into a small pot and heat over medium-low. Allow to simmer for at least five minutes. I usually let it simmer while I prepare the rest of the ingredients. Juice the lemon and put into a food processor. Add the tahini, sweet potato flesh, salt, smoked paprika, and chickpeas. Process until all ingredients are incorporated, scraping down sides as needed. Add the hot can liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, and blend until the consistency is smooth and just looser than desired. Taste at this point; it’s absolutely dreamy when it’s warm! And adjust seasonings as necessary, though I found it to be just perfect.

 And there you have it: my favorite hummus. If you make this recipe or use my suggestions, it would make me so happy to hear from you! Talk to you later 🙂