Sweet potato hummus

As my few followers are aware, the past few months have been difficult and my poor blog has been neglected.  Thank you for your patience.  My energy has returned and I am ready to resume my posts.  One of my current goals is to stock my fridge with healthy and tempting foods.  One of my favorite standbys is hummus. While it's easy to buy, it's also very easy to make.  The finished product is delicious and you can control the ingredients. This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Whole Living Power Foods.  It uses both chickpeas and sweet potato.  I prefer dried chickpeas but the canned product is also good if you are in a pinch.  If using dried chickpeas, soak overnight, rinse in the morning, bring to a boil in salted water and simmer for about an hour until tender.  This recipe calls for tahini, a sesame seed paste, that is available in most grocery stores. 

Sweet potato hummus
1 pound sweet potato
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small garlic clove finely chopped
coarse salt (sea salt) and ground pepper to taste

1. Fill a pot with about 2 inches of water.  Bring water to a boil, add sweet potatoes, simmer and cover until cooked (10-12 minutes). Drain when cooked.
2. Transfer sweet potatoes to food processor.  Add chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, cumin and garlic.  Puree until smooth for about 1 minute.  You may add up to 2 tablespoon water to get a thinner consistency. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and season with pepper.  Cool. Refrigerate for up to 1 week in an airtight container.

This is a delicious spread on whole wheat pita.  I've been enjoying it recently as a spread on apple slices.  I highly recommend it. Enjoy!