Deliciously creamy, sweet and smokey, this smoked pumpkin hummus recipe is a refreshing spin on traditional hummus. Jazz up your fall picnics, use it as an accompaniment to bbq meats, mezze plates or crudités platters. It also makes a great picnic sandwich spread. We love this smokey pumpkin hummus.
30oz|850 gm canned chickpeas rinsed and drainedor dry chickpeas that have been well soaked or cooked.
4tablespoonsof quality tahiniadd incrementally to get your desired sesame levels.
1/4cupextra-virgin olive oildivided for drizzling.
1clovecrushed garlic.
Small pinch of salt or to taste.
1tablespoonground cuminadjust to taste.
2tablespoonsfresh lemon juicemore to taste.
Cold wateror chickpea cooking or can water, as needed to blend. Allow for the moisture of the pumpkin - see notes.
Suggested Garnishes
A sprinkle of sweet or smoked paprika
Chilli flakes or cayenne pepper for a little heat
Smoked pumpkin seeds
Sesame seedscrushed pistachio nuts or toasted pine nuts
Parsley
Finish with a good drizzle of olive oil
Instructions
Mix all hummus ingredients as per the hummus recipe below. See notes about consistency.
Cut the pumpkin in quarters. Leave the skin and seeds as they are easier to remove when cooked.
Place the wood chips in either foil or in a smoker box (as described in the notes) and heat the bbq to 275 ℉ | 135 ℃
Cook for around an hour on the bbq (half an hour for a more subtle smokey flavour.
Finish the pumpkin in a hot oven 430 ℉ | 220 ℃ until the flesh is very soft. Time will depend on the thickness of the pumpkin and how long you choose to smoke for.
Once the pumpkin is cooked, allow it to cool.
Remove the seeds and scrape the flesh from the skin.
Add the pumpkin flesh to your pre-made hummus and blend well. Use approx. half a whole pumpkin for the amounts given in the hummus recipe. this will depend on the size and thickness of your pumpkin – add more if you feel it is a bit light on.
Garnish and serve.
Notes
Consistency
Because the pumpkin is so soft and moist, it will make the consistency a lot wetter than normal hummus. Allow for this when adding liquid to your base hummus – Lean towards the thicker side.
Adjusting Smokiness
If you don’t want too much of a smokey flavour, just a subtle smokiness, take the pumpkin off the bbq earlier and finish in the oven for longer. You can also use more or fewer woodchips depending on your taste.
Using Smoke Flavourings
If you don't have time or facilities to smoke the pumpkin, you can always roast in the oven, or even boil the pumpkin and use smoked paprika or liquid smoke to achieve the smokiness. If possible, try to roast the pumpkin over boiling as the roasting will add to the caramelisation of the pumpkin and the flavour of the smoked hummus.
How Much Pumpkin to Add
For the hummus recipe given, I would add half of the whole smoked pumpkin. The rest of the pumpkin can be used for other dishes. If you would like to divide your base hummus recipe into two, you can reduce the pumpkin again and have a batch of traditional hummus and a batch of pumpkin hummus.