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Hummus w/ Calabaza Squash

Hummus w/ Calabaza Squash

The natural sweetness of calabaza squash pairs perfectly with the heartiness of chickpeas. Feel free to substitute any squash or pumpkin of choice for the same effect. I highly recommend calabaza if you can get your hands on it because it's far more flavorful than most gourds. But really any squash or pie pumpkin will do! It's truly one of the best hummus recipes that I've ever made and I'm sure will continue to make for years to come.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Soak Time 12 hours
Total Time 14 hours 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Servings 3 cups

Equipment

  • Large Pot
  • Food Processor

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ c. chickpeas soaked overnight
  • 2 c. calabaza squash purée
  • 3 cloves roasted garlic (or 2 cloves unroasted garlic)
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 1/2 tbsp. tahini
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions
 

Prepare Ingredients

  • I also use Roasted Garlic to make hummus quite a bit. This is entirely optional, though. You can easily cut the amount of garlic in half! If you do want to roast garlic, you'll need at least a head of garlic, olive oil, and a garlic roaster or aluminum foil.

Soak Chickpeas Overnight

  • Soak chickpeas/garbanzo beans in cold water for at least 12 hours.
    I like to do this overnight because then you're asleep during the down time. Although you can soak them in the morning and still be able to cook them in the evening.Soaking is also important! Do not use canned beans!! The texture won't turn out the same and, since hummus is defined in large part by its texture, no matter how closely you get the flavor to match, the graininess of canned chickpeas.

Roast Calabaza Squash

  • You can roast the calabaza squash at any time, even up to a couple of days beforehand. Just make sure to have started it by the time that you cook the chickpeas after the initial soak.
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Cut squash in half and scoop out the innards to remove all of the seeds and stringy pieces.
  • Once you've cut in half and removed the innards from the squash, wrap in aluminum foil. You can also place this on a baking sheet if you want to keep any of the juice from seeping through the foil.
  • Bake for roughly 2 hours depending on size. Make sure to flip halfway through so that the squash sides are face up.
  • Let cool to the touch.
  • Remove the skin and add squash to the food processor. Purée until smooth, making sure to scrape the sides occasionally.

Cook Chickpeas

  • Drain the chickpeas. Add to a large pot and cover with a couple inches of water.
  • Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.
  • Simmer for an hour and a half to two hours, or until tender. You may need to adjust the temperature to keep them from boiling as they cook down.
    They should begin to shed their skin and be soft, much like the consistency of a barely boiled potato. They should still keep their shape and not turn to mush. But theoretically putting a fork in them would split them in half.
    If, when you go to remove the skins, you're peeling them off each individual chickpea, they're not cooked if. If they chickpeas are just crumbling and everything is turning to mush, they are overcooked!
  • Drain the beans immediately after cooking.

Remove Skins

  • This is arguably the worst step to making chickpeas. You don't have to remove every single skin, but the more that you do remove, the better the texture of the hummus will be. The skins are tough and give it a grainy texture. Which is not what you're looking for in something that should be soft and smooth!
  • The easiest way that I've found to remove the skins as quickly and easily as possible is to run them under cold until cool, place them in a large bowl, and fill with enough water so that the chickpeas are covered by at least 1/2 an inch. Then, rub a handful of chickpeas between your palms at a time. Much like you're doing the "Buuuuuuuuur, I'm cold!" motion. The skins should separate and float.
    If you've cooked the chickpeas long enough, the skins should easily slide off of the chickpeas. If you've cooked them too much, this will cause the chickpeas to break apart and disintegrate. If you're close to the right cooking time, you should be fine. It can be difficult to remove as many skins as you would have otherwise and you may get some graininess in the end result, but you should still get delicious hummus out of it!
  • Remove the skins and drain the chickpeas.

Make Hummus

  • Add chickpeas, calabaza, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, olive oil, cumin, and salt to a high powered blender or food processor. Blend until mixture forms a smooth paste and you can no longer see pieces of chickpeas.
  • Add 1/2 c. crushed ice and blend for 2-4 more minutes. This is entirely optional, but the rapid cooling helps with the texture.
    If you don't have crushed ice, you can also add ice water or olive oil, 1 tablespoon at a time. The exact consistency differs slightly depending on how much the chickpeas have absorbed water during the simmering process. Even if you cook them perfectly, the age of the chickpeas can still be a variable. If they're too thick, just add a little bit more liquid!
  • Once a smooth, consistent texture has been achieved, remove and chill before serving. I usually chill for about an hour. This is optional as well, but warm chickpeas aren't exactly what we tend to think of when we look to hummus!

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