Squash Hummus

I always love, love hummus when I order it out.  I like it at home as well but it always seemed different at home...until I finally pinpointed what the difference was. When I order hummus out, it is served warm with fresh hot pita and when I have it at home, I usually just grab it straight from the fridge along with some veggies.  Heating up the hummus and serving it with some fresh warm pita takes this simple dip from daytime snack to schmancey feeling appetizer.  Really.

Throwing in some roasted kabocha squash results in a sweeter hummus.  If roasting a squash seems like something better done on another day but you are still craving hummus, you can throw in a cup of canned pumpkin instead.  And the best part is that hummus is so customizable to personal taste.  I happen to love tahini but if it is not your thing, you can reduce the amount to half a cup.  If you love roasted garlic, you can roast a whole head along with the squash and toss that into the food processor.  You might want to leave out the 3 garlic cloves in the recipe then...or maybe not.  Can there really be too much garlic in hummus?

Squash Hummus

2 cups of cubed baked squash (I used kabocha)
1 can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup of tahini (sesame seed paste)
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling over squash
3 cloves of garlic
The juice from half of a lemon
1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika plus more for sprinkling on top if desired

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375

Cut squash into pieces and roast until fork tender.  Time will depend on size of slices and type of squash.  My kabocha took about 30 mins. 

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth and creamy.

Heat in microwave in 15 second increments until heated through and serve with warm pita or naan