Monday, January 20, 2014

Buffalo Butternut Squash Hummus

Buffalo Butternut Squash Hummus

Buffalo sauce-seasoned roasted butternut squash hummus makes a spicy vegetable addition to an appetizer spread.

Buffalo Butternut Hummus | Farm Fresh Feasts




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When I think about game day snacks, Buffalo Chicken Dip is high on the list of essentials.  I've made 2 kinds of Buffalo Chicken pizzas (here and here). (My son will even cobble together a dip out of whatever he can find in fridge if I say 'No, I'm blogging about Corn and Black Bean Salsa in Avocado Cups and not making Buffalo dip!').  That's how much we like the flavor.

But what if your guests include vegans or vegetarians?  What if your guests include folks trying to rein in the tendency to overindulge and want more vegetable options?

Buffalo Butternut Hummus | Farm Fresh Feasts


I try to have something for a variety of eating styles on my appetizer spread, and I find I can't go wrong with vegetables.  For #AppetizerWeek I'll be sharing a variety of savory appetizers using seasonal vegetables, starting today with Buffalo Butternut Squash Hummus. Tomorrow I'll share a Harvest Sweet Potato salsa, coming on Wednesday I've got a Sriracha twist on this hummus, then I'll round out the week with a pair of puff pastry pizza appetizers--Pickled Pepper and Pepperoni Puff Pastry Pizza Pinwheels (say that 3x fast) on Thursday and Very Veggie Puff Pastry Pizza Bites on Friday. Whew, what a week!

This Buffalo Butternut Squash Hummus provides the spicy heat from cayenne pepper sauce coupled with the mellow smoothness of roasted butternut squash hummus.  It also makes a terrific base for a layered veggie appetizer in the style of my Five Layer Mediterranean Chicken Dip or Layered Summer Vegetable Appetizer. Customize this hummus any way you like.  Top it with sliced celery, crumbled blue cheese, and even chunks of chicken. Scoop it up with pita chips or celery sticks or pretzels or chicken fries.

The inspiration for this recipe came from my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (link to the photo on my FB page)  As the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share season draws to a close, I begin to stockpile winter squash, sweet and white potatoes, onions, and garlic in a cold corner of my breakfast nook.  After all the fresh greens are consumed--and before I turn to the vegetables I've canned or frozen--my SWSR is our source for farm fresh food in the dead of winter.  I started with the hummus recipe from Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables (Amazon affiliate link) and added my twists based on what I thought my family would enjoy and what we had on hand.

I've revamped my Visual Recipe Index! For more ideas on what to do with your butternut squash, click here. To learn How to Use This Blog, click here. To see what other vegetable happy recipes I've found to pin, follow me on Pinterest. To see behind the scenes of my day, follow me on Instagram. For articles and other things that catch my eye, follow me on Facebook.


Buffalo Butternut Hummus | Farm Fresh Feasts

Visit all the other Appetizer Week participants for more Football Munching Temptations:

Buffalo Butternut Hummus | Farm Fresh Feasts

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:

Buffalo 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)
  • 3 to 4 teaspoons cayenne pepper sauce (plus more for drizzling)
  • ½ teaspoon salt to start (I use kosher) plus more to taste
  • olive oil for drizzling
  • optional toppings:  sliced celery, crumbled blue cheese, cubed cooked chicken
  • optional dippers:  celery sticks, carrot slices, zucchini sticks, pita chips, pretzels, chicken fries


Ingredients


  1. In a food processor, combine chick peas and squash.  Pulse a few times until blended together.  
  2. Add tahini, orange juice, cayenne pepper sauce and salt.  Process until thoroughly combined, stopping to scrape down sides occasionally. (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.)  
  3. Taste to see if you'd like to add more salt or cayenne pepper sauce. 
  4. Transfer to a serving container and drizzle with olive oil and more cayenne pepper sauce, or spread on a large plate and top with some of the suggestions above, or go off in your own direction.


You can find the rest of my #AppetizerWeek recipes here:
Harvest Sweet Potato Salsa 
Sriracha Butternut Squash Hummus 
Pickled Pepper & Pepperoni Puff Pastry Pinwheels 

Veggie Veggie Puff Pastry Pizza Bites 

Want more ideas for layered vegetable appetizers? Just click on the photo to go to each recipe:

http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2014/01/buffalo-butternut-squash-hummus.html http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2014/04/avocado-feta-hummus-layered-vegetable.html http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2013/08/layered-summer-veggie-appetizer.html http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2014/03/avocado-lemon-feta-yogurt-dip.html http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2013/06/five-layer-mediterranean-chicken-dip.html http://www.farmfreshfeasts.com/2013/08/fattoush-dip-with-kale-hummus.html Image Map

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

25 comments:

  1. I love the idea of sneaking a few more veggies into football snacking! I'm looking forward to the rest of the week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abby,
      Sneaking? More like the vegetables are boldly striding into the arena. Or would that be stadium? I dunno--this was a very fun experience (though judging by the delay in responding you can tell it wore me out a tad).
      Thanks!

      Delete
  2. So creative - I am a fan of anything "buffalo" and this would be great for vegetarians!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown,
      Yep, I'm trying to use my CSA farm share to provide options for as many eaters as I can. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Brilliant recipe. I love the addition of butternut squash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christie,
      Butternut squash is such a colorful and versatile vegetable, possibly my favorite winter squash. At least until my compost volunteers come up with something else to enjoy!

      Delete
  4. I wrote a big long comment yesterday, and I think mu BlogLovin program ate it. Harumph. Alright fine, maybe it was only a medium sized comment. In any event, I love the idea of using squash to make hummus in this dip. I have a ton of Acorn Squash in the fridge...do you think it will work as well? Maybe I should just find out? I also am digging the idea of being able to get Buffalo Chicken Dip flavors without the actual chicken. Success.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      You know 10% of my spam comments start off with "I left a big long comment . . . " ? I think acorn squash would be excellent in this dip--especially because you have a ton of it! You're talented enough to find out and report back like you did making a vegetarian version of my Thai Creamy Chicken Noodle soup.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  5. Our local Buffalo Brothers has an awsome buffalo chicken pizza. Next time you are in the area, we will have to stop by. Love of pizza AND buffalo pizza? How can you go wrong?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Buffalo Brothers? Cool. Here we have Buffalo Wild Wings which everyone calls BW3s. Apparently there used to be a 4th word in the restaurant name, Weck, which I've never tried. Yet.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Rachel,
      I would be lost without my pizza slicer--it's terrific.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. This looks terrific! I have to do a Game Day recipe for my next Sunday Supper (on Super Bowl Sunday) and I *cannot* decide what to make or which direction to go! It's starting to bug me too, because I'm not usually so indecisive, but geez! Dip? Sliders? Beer bread? A dessert with beer? Aaaahhh!

    Great giveaway, too, I love Oxo products. I'm not sure which is my favorite, but I'd have to say that they make a great bottle opener, and that gets used *a lot* in my house. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Julie,
      I keep finding myself in hotel rooms while I'm away at sled hockey tournaments--without a bottle opener. I've gotten fairly creative I admit ;) but an OXO bottle opener sure would be easier.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  8. love the OXO handle grips for all size hands in the kitchen...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barry,
      I know what you mean--my spouse has large hands and buys all of our OXO tools because he likes the fit.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  9. I love my angled measuring cups - I have a 2 cup one a 4 tablespoon one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bekah,
      I've never tried them, but I'd love the convenience of seeing the measurement from above. As it is, I throw in a couple of squats while I'm checking the level of my measurement.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  10. One day..... I know American giveaways will consider shipping to Canadian residents too... until then... I will enjoy your hummus. Because you just made it better and I didn't even think that was possible. Love it.

    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,
      Kim, from Cravings of a Lunatic, organized #AppetizerWeek and even having a Canadian blogger run things didn't help with the shipping. I'm sad about that. However, I'm glad you will enjoy the hummus even if you aren't eligible.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  11. How unique! I love hummus so I'm going to have to try this! Thank you for linking up at Tasty Tuesdays! Your post has been pinned to my Recipes from Tasty Tuesday board. I can't wait to see what you link up next week!
    Have a terrific weekend!
    Cathy
    APeekIntoMyParadise.com
    #TastyTuesdays

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathy,
      We are big hummus fans here, too. My spouse and son can plow through large volumes for afternoon snacks, so I like to keep things interesting.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  12. Keep this going please, great job!

    ReplyDelete