Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus

Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus

Spicy and creamy, this make ahead vegetable appetizer perks up any occasion.


Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus #Appetizerweek | Farm Fresh Feasts


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I was trying to describe to a friend what a shake of sriracha brings to a dish.
"Well, it's heat.  But with flavor . . .  It doesn't burn your mouth like a really hot pepper, it doesn't numb your mouth like Szechuan peppercorns . . . it's just . . . heat.  But with flavor . . ."
[Clearly I suck at the whole food writing thing. Let me feed you instead.]  When I add a shake of sriracha chili sauce to vegetables, like my Soy Sriracha Roasted Mushrooms, happy things happen.  When Laura adds sriracha to vegetable muffins, StrangeButGood things happen.  I was in an experimental mood when I whipped up this batch of Sriracha Butternut Hummus for #AppetizerWeek.  I'd roasted one of the butternut squash in my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (link to a photo on my FB page) and used half in Buffalo Butternut Hummus . . . but I had the second half beckoning me to play.

I like playing with the vegetables from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share.  Getting a weekly box of fresh local vegetables means my family is more likely to eat vegetables.  It sounds silly, but just getting the produce into my kitchen is half the battle sometimes.  Figuring out what to do with them?  Well, that's why I created a Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient--so when I've got beets, kale, or peppers I can see several recipes for how to use them and pick which one suits my fancy.  Other folks who enjoy eating from a farm share agree, so I think I'm on the right track.
I've revamped my Visual Recipe Index! For more ideas on what to do with your butternut squash, click here.

Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus #Appetizerweek | Farm Fresh Feasts

If you are serving vegetarians or vegans I recommend checking your sriracha sauce to make sure it does not contain fish extract, or making Buffalo Butternut Hummus and creating a layered dip to suit your eaters.

Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus #Appetizerweek | Farm Fresh Feasts

Visit all the other Appetizer Week Blogs for more Snack Time Deliciousness:

Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus #Appetizerweek | Farm Fresh Feasts
Missing:  Olive oil + dippers
NOTE:  I created this recipe to be gluten free through my choice of ingredients. Check labels to confirm that your products are also gluten free. Good sources for determining that your products are gluten free can be found here:

Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus

Ingredients


  • 1+½ cups chick peas, cooked and drained (try Dorothy's easy slow cooker chick pea method)
  • 1 cup roasted butternut squash (cut in half, scoop out the guts, add ½ cup water to a rimmed baking sheet, bake face down for 20-40 minutes at 400 degrees)
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • ¼ cup orange juice (I didn't have lemon or lime--but I've got Band Fruit Fundraiser Oranges to use)
  • 1 Tablespoon sriracha chili sauce (plus more for drizzling)
  • ½ teaspoon salt to start (I use kosher) plus more to taste
  • olive oil for drizzling
  • optional dippers:  carrot slices, celery sticks, pita chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, mushrooms, melba toast, cocktail meatballs, zucchini sticks . . . or dump all of the above on a plate and call it dinner.

Instructions


  1. In a food processor, combine chick peas and squash.  Pulse a few times until blended together.  
  2. Add tahini, orange juice, sriracha and salt.  Process until thoroughly combined, stopping to scrape down sides occasionally. 
  3. (If you don't have a food processor, a potato masher, potato ricer, blender or food mill would work to break down the chick peas until you could stir in the remaining ingredients.)  
  4. Taste at this point and see if you'd prefer more salt or sriracha. 
  5. Transfer to a serving container and drizzle with olive oil and more sriracha sauce (if desired).  
  6. Serve with some of the suggestions above, or go off in your own direction.  Just enjoy the sriracha--and help me find the words to describe it.


Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus #Appetizerweek | Farm Fresh Feasts
Behind the scenes in my breakfast nook
I'm enjoying participating in #AppetizerWeek.  So far I've shared 2 kinds of Butternut Squash Hummus and a Harvest Sweet Potato Salsa recipe.  It's been a challenge to create 5 posts for one week--I usually post 3 days a week so I feel like it's Friday--time to break out the cocktails!  My family loves their Friday night pizzas and I love my family, though, so I'll press on. Coming up tomorrow is a Pickled Pepper and Pepperoni Puff Pastry Pizza Pinwheel (I just spit all over the screen saying that) and I'll round out the week with Very Veggie Puff Pastry Pizza Bites.

You can find my other #AppetizerWeek recipes here:
Buffalo Butternut Squash Hummus 
Harvest Sweet Potato Salsa 
Pickled Pepper & Pepperoni Puff Pastry Pinwheels 

Veggie Veggie Puff Pastry Pizza Bites 

This recipe is shared with the What's Cookin' Wednesdays, Fresh Foods Wednesday, and the From The Farm Blog Hop,Tasty TuesdaysFood on Friday.

14 comments:

  1. Oh, sriracha - I agree, add it to just about anything and I'm there with bells on!

    I don't have a signature appetizer that I serve, I vary up my parties quite a bit. I am very well known for my buffalo sauce though. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Julie,
      I'm so glad you shared your Buffalo sauce recipe!
      Thanks!

      Delete
  2. What a magnificent hummus!!! I need to venture out and try something besides the classic version!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz,
      Sometimes I think my spouse would prefer I stick to the classic version . . . in the Sabra tub . . . but that's just not how I roll.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  3. You can feed me any day of the week and twice on Tuesday. I'll even wash the floors. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      After adopting these wiener dogs I need these floors washed.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  4. Mike and Braden love Sriracha. I wonder if this would get B to eat some squash. Hmmm. For parties I love to use my tiny three crock device and serve up a choice of dips.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heather,
      This gets my son to eat squash--well this and the Buffalo hummus ;) though he also eats it in muffins, pizza, lasagna . . . you get the idea.
      I need to expand my crock capabilities.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  5. That hummus looks like something fun to try. My signature appetizer is a baked brie in a bread bowl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bekah,
      We love baked brie--that sounds like an excellent signature appetizer!

      Delete
  6. Not gonna lie - when I have a CSA, I'm much more likely to eat vegetables too. Simply because they come to me and thus I have to figure out what to do with them. But it's so inspiring!!

    PS. Sriracha makes everything better. Everything.

    Thank you so much for sharing your post with us at Fresh Foods Wednesday! I hope you'll be back this week with more fresh food posts :) xo, kristy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristy,
      You're so right--in these winter months I vacillate between buying some fresh veggies and turning to the SWSR. And of course avocados . . .
      Thanks!

      Delete
  7. We love Sriracha at our house (so much that I can now spell it without looking)! We are always looking for new hummus combinations, and this looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Renée,
      It was a banner day for me when I realized I could spell Fahrenheit or prosciutto without looking!
      Thanks!

      Delete