Carrot Hummus

As with many roasted vegetables, the volume shrinks as you cook. What looks like enough carrots for a crowd may end up fitting into a small serving bowl. You can count on one pound of carrots serving 6 people or so.

Serve with crudités (I think it goes better with celery than with cucumber), flat breads or pita and salad greens, or as part of a meze-style spread. Drizzling it to coat lightly with oil before serving will prevent it from discoloring.

Here’s a shout out to Shula who recalled this recipe when I was thinking out loud about what to make as an appetizer to bring to a dinner tonight. Thanks – this was a great suggestion. Everyone there wanted to be sure the recipe would be posted over the weekend – so here it is!

The hummus can be made ahead and refrigerated for 5 days. Adapted from “River Cottage Veg: 200 Inspired Vegetable Recipes,” by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Ten Speed Press, 2013) and tested by Joe Yonan, published in The Washington Post.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon coriander seed
4 tablespoons olive or canola oil, plus more for drizzling 
1 teaspoon honey (use agave to keep it vegan)
1 pound carrots, trimmed and well scrubbed
3 large unpeeled cloves garlic, smashed
Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1 orange
3 tablespoons tahini (may substitute smooth peanut butter)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Have a medium roasting pan at hand.
2. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small dry skillet for about a minute until just fragrant. Use a mortar and pestle to grind them to a fine-ish powder. Transfer to a large bowl; whisk in 4 tablespoons of the oil and all the honey.
3. Cut the carrots into 1/4-inch chunks, then add to the spiced oil along with the garlic. Toss to coat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Scrape the dressed carrots into the roasting pan and spread in an even layer; roast, turning once, until the carrots are tender and just starting to char slightly around the edges, 25 to 35 minutes.
4. Cool slightly, then transfer the roasting pan’s contents to a food processor, slipping the garlic cloves out of their skins as you do so and scraping as much of the crusty brown bits, spices and oil as possible into the food processor. Add the lemon and orange juices, and tahini. Puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
5. Transfer to a serving dish and lightly drizzle with more oil if desired.