Pumpkin Pie Hummus

This is Pumpkin Pie Hummus is perfect for Halloween and the entire autumn harvest season. I use Kabocha squash which is fairly sweet on its own, but you may substitute for another sweet squash like butternut or buttercup squash. Toasting the seeds you remove from the squash makes an excellent additional snack or even a garnish for the hummus.

 

Ingredients

1. 160 g dry chickpeas
2. 375g Kabocha squash or another sweet squash
3. 1 tsp fine sea salt (6g)
4. 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)
5. 13g minced ginger (fresh or frozen)
6. 1-2 tsp cinnamon (I really love cinnamon)
7. 1/4 tsp nutmeg
8. 1/4 tsp ground cloves
9. 1 tsp red pepper flakes
10. 6 tbsp tahini paste (75g sessamee seeds / 45g sesame oil or olive oil)
11. 2/3 cup cooking liquid (at least 100g)

1. Cook chickpeas: The night before soak chickpeas in plenty of water: water should cover the chickpeas by 1-1.5 inches. I add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with the mother to help the process along. Next morning or evening rinse and drain the chickpeas well. Transfer them to a cooking pot and put in about 525g of cean water (I use filtered). Bring it to a boil and cook covered on the lowest possible heat for about 2 hours. Drain, reserve the cooking liquid and wash the chickpeas in 2-3 changes of cold water. Now peel them.
2. Cook the squash. Cut in half and place face down on a lined cookie sheet or other flat baking pan. Bake with the seeds at 200℃ (400℉) for 25 minutes. Let cool and gently remove the seeds. You can toast the seeds again for a delicious snack.
3. Make hummus: First, grind sesame seeds with dry spices, then add in ginger, oil, and lemon juice, and grind again. Then add in the squash. You may need to add some cooking liquid to fully blend. Combine reserved liquid from cooking and blend that in. Finally add the cooked garbonzo beans and grind or pulse them until you achieve a smooth silky paste. Taste and add more cooking liquid, if you prefer thinner hummus: mind you that hummus has a tendency to thicken in a few hours.
4. extra virgin olive oil, for serving
5. red pepper flakes, for serving