Equally delicious to snack on as it is to enjoy as a light meal, this wonderful combination of flavours and textures is sure to leave you wanting more. We recommend serving this with plenty of flatbread or crackers as the recipe makes a good volume of hummus.
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 1 ½ hours
Serves 2-3 people
INGREDIENTS 1 kg wedge of pumpkin 8 leaves of Curly Kale 200g chickpeas ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 tablespoons tahini 1 clove of garlic 40g Pumpkin seeds 1 teaspoon cumin, ground ½ teaspoon turmeric ½ teaspoon chili powder Extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste
EQUIPMENT Chopping board and knife Medium sized pot or pan Baking tray lined with baking paper Rubber spatula or wooden spoon Mixing bowl Food processor or blender Strainer or sieve
METHOD
1. Before we get started, you’re going to want to soak the chickpeas. To do this simply place the chickpeas into a large bowl or container and add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and enough water to cover them completely with water. Continue adding water until there appears to be twice as much water as chickpeas. The chickpeas will absorb the water and double in size overnight. If it is warm in your kitchen you can store this container in your fridge instead. The following day place the contents of the bowl into a large pot and add a generous sprinkling of salt. Bring the pot up to the boil and then reduce the heat slightly to where the water is boiling but it doesn’t look like your chickpeas are being attacked by jacuzzi jets. Scum will come to the surface of the pot, simply remove this with a spoon or ladle and discard. Allow to cook for an hour or until the chickpeas are soft enough to crush between your fingers. Optionally, remove a few spoonfuls of chickpeas that are tender but not too soft before the chickpeas are fully cooked and reserve them as garnish for the finished plate.
If you want to infuse the chickpeas with extra flavour you can cook them in stock or add additional hard herbs and spices to the cooking water.
2. While the chickpeas are cooking, peel the pumpkin by running a knife just under the skin. Once peeled, dice into 1-inch cubes. Remove the leaves from the hard stem of the curly kale by running your hand along the central rib of the leaf and pull off the leaves or cut around the stem with a knife to preserve the shape of the leaves. For the garlic, simply peel and mince.
3. Preheat an oven to 200C with a baking tray inside getting hot. Pat off any moisture from the pumpkin with paper towels and then season liberally with olive oil and salt. Prepare a sheet of baking paper that will fit the size of the baking tray appropriately. Once the oven is preheated, quickly remove the tray from the oven and line the tray with baking paper. Place the seasoned pumpkin onto the tray, nicely spread out, and immediately place the tray into the oven. Allow to cook for 20 minutes and turn the cubes of pumpkin over. Allow to cook for another 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is nicely browned.
4. Reduce the heat in the oven to 150C. In a mixing bowl, season the kale lightly with salt and olive oil. Lay out the kale onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, spread out well, and place into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the kale is crisp but still green. Remove from the tray and allow to cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container.
5. Increase the temperature of the oven to 160C and season the pumpkin seeds with a few drops of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place on the same lined baking tray used for the kale chips and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature and store in an airtight container.
6. Once the chickpeas are cooked, strain off the liquid but reserve it and pour the chickpeas into the bowl of a food processor or a blender. Add about 100ml of the cooking liquid, the tahini, garlic, cumin, turmeric and chili powder as well as a squeeze of lemon juice and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add a few cubes of your roast pumpkin and puree everything together until nice and smooth, the more pumpkin you add the more pronounced the pumpkin flavour becomes. Thin out with the reserved cooking liquid from the chickpeas and blend until the hummus has the consistency of a thick milkshake.
7. To serve, spoon a generous dollop of the hummus on the bottom of a plate and layer on the roasted butternut squash, the crispy kale, a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds, a few chickpeas and finish with a good drizzle of a quality extra virgin olive oil. Serve with crackers or bread to spoon up the hummus!