Butternut Squash Hummus

Thanks to the suggestion of a Fair Shares member who has the same luscious cookbook called Jerusalem which I highly recommend, I made this delicious dip. I adapted it to use only Fair Shares ingredients (and because I’m lazy and didn’t want to peel and cut up the raw squash), and I served it with sliced carrots, radishes, and of course bread–mmmm.

– 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into rough chunks (*I just cut it in quarters and scooped out the seeds and microwaved it until soft, about 12-16 minutes, in 5 minute increments)
– 2 tablespoons of olive oil (I omitted because I didn’t roast the squash)
– 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
– 5 tablespoons of tahini paste (I will cut this amount down by a tablespoon next time)
– 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt (I used plain regular yogurt)
– 2 garlic cloves, crushed
– 1 teaspoon of black and/or white sesame seeds (I omitted these because I didn’t have any–I might drizzle sesame oil over the top next time)
– 1 1/2 teaspoons of date syrup (you can substitute maple syrup or molasses; I used date caramel syrup and found it to be a bit too sweet–it’s sweet with no syrup added)
– 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the squash, oil, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Toss to coat, then transfer to a roasting pan and cover tightly with foil. Roast for about an hour, stirring once. Remove the squash from the oven and let cool. (*As I mentioned above, I microwaved until soft, scooped out the flesh and mixed all the ingredients but the syrup with a hand held potato masher.)
2. Once it’s cool, transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the tahini, yogurt and garlic and pulse until the mixture forms a rough paste.
3. Transfer spread to a serving dish or container, drizzle with date syrup and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve alongside little toasts or bread. (or watermelon radishes and carrots).