Magnificent News: Eat Voraciously: I’m all about hummus

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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I'm all about hummus

You might not know it, but hummus, that combination of chickpeas, garlic, tahini and salt, is one of the world's oldest foods. Records of its consumption include and predate the ancient Egyptians, according to Lilia Zaouali's "Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World." Today in the United States, it's found at nearly every grocery and convenience store. But anyone who has ever made it at home knows that freshly made hummus is best.

The good news is that if you've never made it before, it's very, very easy. For best results, a food processor is recommended. You can also use a high-speed blender, but you may need to add more liquid, resulting in a runnier hummus. If you have neither appliance, we even have a recipe that requires only manual labor.

A few tips to making great hummus at home:

Don't skimp on the tahini. (Unless you're allergic, then you'd have to omit it — see below.) The sesame paste adds both fat and flavor.
Garlic and lemon give hummus a touch of spice and necessary acidity, which rounds out its final flavor.
You'll need some liquid for the creamiest hummus. Some recipes call for ice water; others, like this one, suggest you use the liquid in a can of chickpeas or the water you used to cook chickpeas, also known as aquafaba. Either way, don't skip this step unless you are looking for stiffer hummus.

For tonight's recipe, you'll make a quick hummus and spread it atop roasted sweet potato slabs, or sweet potato toasts. (It's a gluten-free meal!) I love the flavor of sweet potatoes and tahini-infused hummus together — it just works. You can then top the slabs with crispy chickpeas, radish and sunflower sprouts, or go off script and consider topping them with seasonal roasted or raw vegetables, fresh fruit, nuts, or flaked coconut.

Today's recipe

Photos by Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Bonnie S. Benwick/The Washington Post.

Sweet Potato Toasts With Hummus, Radish and Sunflower Sprouts

Find substitution suggestions and other tips below the recipe.

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Servings: 6 (makes about 18 toasts)
Active time: 15 mins
Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes (about 1 pound each), scrubbed well
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (pimenton; may substitute za'atar or ground sumac), plus more for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon fine salt, divided, or more as needed
Ice cube
3 tablespoons tahini
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Water (optional)
3 small radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup loosely packed sunflower sprouts (may substitute pea shoots or other sprouts of your choice)

Steps

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees.

2. Trim the pointed ends from the sweet potatoes. Trim off a thin slice from one side of each sweet potato, turning those sides down on the cutting board for slicing stability, then cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices.

3. Arrange the slices in a single layer on two large, rimmed baking sheets. Pierce each slice several times with a fork. (Place those sweet potato trimmings on the baking sheets as well; you can bake and save them to eat on salads and in grain bowls, or for dipping into the hummus.)

4. Scatter half the chickpeas (about 1 1/2 cups) on a small, rimmed baking sheet. Toss with the oil, paprika and 1/8 teaspoon salt until evenly coated.

5. Bake the sweet potatoes and chickpeas for 10 minutes (upper and lower racks), then flip the sweet potato slices over, and continue baking until the potatoes are barely fork-tender (but not soft) and the chickpeas are lightly browned, for another 10 to 20 minutes. (You want the potato slices to remain stiff enough to be picked up for eating.) Transfer the pans to a cooling rack.

6. Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup of the liquid from the cans of chickpeas (aquafaba) into a liquid measuring cup and add the ice cube to it. Discard the rest or save for another use.

7. Combine the remaining chickpeas, plus the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 cup of the aquafaba in a blender or mini food processor. Puree until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides and continuing to blend for a few minutes.

8. With the motor running, slowly pour the remaining 1/4 cup of the aquafaba into the chickpea mixture, stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides. The resulting hummus should be light, and about the texture of thick pancake batter. If it's thicker than that, resume blending and slowly pour in a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the right texture. Taste, and add more salt, as needed.

9. Spread each sweet potato slice with a tablespoon or two of the hummus. Top with the baked chickpeas, radish slices and sunflower sprouts. Drizzle with a little more oil and sprinkle with more smoked paprika.

Based on a recipe in "The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World," by Marco Borges (Harmony Books, 2018). Tested by Joe Yonan.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 340; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 220 mg; Carbohydrates: 58 g; Dietary Fiber: 11 g; Sugars: 7 g; Protein: 12 g.

Substitution suggestions + other tips and ideas:

Consider this a template: Feel free to use store-bought hummus (see our taste test from a few years back) or other spreads, such as soft cheese or nut butter.
If you don't have sweet potatoes >> use yams, white potatoes or squash (noting that it may take more or less time to cook, depending on what you use).
No chickpeas? >> Any white bean will work here.
Out of tahini? >> Skip it, but add more garlic and lemon.