Hello fellow beings, fall is upon us and with wintertime brings fall spices, garden pumpkins, and cold noses…one of my favorite times of the year. Winter brings us local love of seasonal gourds and vegetables that I have been waiting for quite some time to get my hands on. Fresh local pumpkins, curly kale, garlic, and lemons have been utilized here in my recipe to you.

Pumpkin and Kale Hummus. Vegan, of course. I decided the more traditional pumpkin hummus needed a lil’ something extra, something healthy and something green. And yes, kale is the perfect selection. Oh sweet gourd, my pumpkin friend makes a wonderful pairing with the tahini and adds a nice mellow sweetness to the overall dish. This was spectacular to me, I ended up making a second batch right afterwards for future bliss.

Please do try this, I am telling you it’s delish…

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked/drained garbanzo beans (*see note)

1 cup pumpkin (I used fresh)

1 cup packed kale leaves

4-5 fresh garlic cloves

juice squeezes of 1/2 lemon

2-4 tbsp water from pot of boiled garbanzo beans

2 tbsp tahini

1-2 tbsp olive oil (cold processed)

*Notes: I added extra water when I boiled my chickpeas (remember to try and soak ‘em first for 12 hours!), so I saved/used the excess in the hummus. Plain water may alter the taste a bit but should work.

Directions:

Place all ingredients (start off in small increments for the water) into a food processor and blend until all is smooth and combined. You may need to scrape down the sides periodically throughout the blending. Add more water as necessary to suit your texture preference.

That’s it!

Indulge, enjoy, savor, devour. Eat it plain, with some vegan/gf crackers, garden veggies, on sprouted toast or a sandwich. This makes a great, thick dip too! It’ll be a bit chunkier if you use less water.

This would make an excellent appetizer at a get together, party, vegan potluck, or family gathering.

Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge and you’ll have lovely hummus for days!