Pumpkin Hummus

So in the past several weeks, I've seen quite a few references on Facebook and other social media about Pumpkin Hummus. Being a hummus fiend that I am, I knew I had to try it. I decided to take it along as one -of my contributions to my mother-in-law's Thanksgiving Dinner. According to her, all she knows how to cook is Southern, Fattening and Unhealthy. Honestly, she must use about 2 lbs of butter on that day alone. But, she's a doll. Ever since she found out about my eating habits, she's been really really attentive and always makes sure she has something made for me. Either a baked potato, or a sweet potato and she's always added a veggie tray and a salad to help provide me with a better choice for dinner. The past few times, I've carried a bowl of hummus with me to dip my veggies in. Since it was Thanksgiving, I decided to add a fall twist and try out one of the recipes for Pumpkin Hummus available online. The one that intrigued me the most was from Dreena Burton's Plant Powered Kitchen. I followed the recipe to a tee and then simply added some salt and lemon juice, to taste.

Dreena Burton's Pumpkin Hummus

Recipe (as published by Dreena Burton)

Prep Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 can Chick peas, drained and rinsed
2. 1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3. 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
4. 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (Dreena's comment - try not to substitute lemon juice, the lime flavor really works here). I only had bottled Lime juice so I used that. 
5. 1 medium-large clove garlic (Dreena's comment - adjust to taste, use smaller clove for kid-friendly). I used a teaspoon of minced garlic.
6. 1 tsp sea salt
7. 1 – 2 tbsp Tahini (to taste)
8. 3/4 tsp ground cumin
9. 1/4 tsp (rounded) ground allspice
10. 1/4 – 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
11. 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
12. 1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (see note for toasting; reserve about 2-3 tbsp for garnish)

Directions:

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor (except pumpkin seeds), and starting with 1 tbsp tahini, until smooth.  After taste testing, I added an additional tbsp of tahini, maybe another 1/8 cup of Lime juice and 2 tbsp Maple syrup. Garnish with pumpkin seeds (Dreena's recipe called for pulsing the pumpkin seeds into the hummus but I don't like large chunks in my hummus so I only used the toasted seeds as a garnish. I served with whole-grain Wasa crackers and fresh veggies (red and green peppers, celery, cucumbers and carrots). 

My Assessment: I liked it. I liked the smokiness of the paprika but I think that the cumin overpowers a lot of the flavors. While I am a big fan of cumin and use it a lot I think it is a strong spice and should not be used for delicately flavored dishes like this one. The pumpkin flavor was somewhat hidden by the cumin. Overall, a pretty good hit with the Omni family!!