Butternut Squash Hummus

I know....I know....I haven't posted in a long time!  I promise to get back to it as soon as I am able to process everything in my head and make sense of it enough to write about it. 

In the meantime I made this delicious Butternut Squash Hummus and I wanted to share the recipe! 

It's the time of year when those squash are plentiful and I am making an effort to take advantage of them this year in any way I can. 

To roast the butternut squash, first peel and then halve the squash lengthwise. Remove the seeds (you can wash these seeds and dry them in the oven like you would pumpkin seeds so don't throw them away!).  Cut the seeded and peeled squash into 1" cubes.  You can drizzle the squash with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper but I just kept it plain.  If you use olive oil you should be able to spread the squash chunks onto a baking sheet.  Since I did not, I put a sheet of parchment paper onto my baking sheet to keep the squash from sticking.

Bake the squash in a 400 degree oven until tender (probably about 20 to 30 minutes....but keep an eye on it).

You won't use all of the squash for this hummus recipe but you can use it for other recipes.  I added some to mashed potatoes, topped a salad with a few more and chopped the rest up and threw it into  my spaghetti. 

Butternut Squash Hummus

3 cups (or two cans) of Chickpeas with about 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid from the chickpeas saved
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Cup Butternut Squash, cubed
3 cloves Garlic
1/2 Tbsp Falafel Spice (I get this at the Arabian Market and you may be able to find it in a specialty store.  You can substitute Seven Spice or make your own combination of spices to your taste.  If you just really want to try this without a trip to the market substitute 1 tsp Cumin, 1 tsp Corriander and 1/2 tsp onion powder)
4 Tbsp Sesame Seeds or 2 Tbsp Tahini (I use the sesame seeds to make this fat free)

Combine all ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth.  If you need more liquid add a little bit of olive oil or (for fat free) just a bit of water to smooth it out.

I served this with brown rice I had also seasoned with falafel spice but it would be delicious with raw or roasted vegetables or on bread or crackers!

I hope you enjoy!