(Semi) Raw Zucchini Hummus

I opened my fridge to look for a snack to enjoy while watching Rookie Blue (don't judge me....I just want to support home-grown talent...) and all I found was a sad little zucchini. Thankfully, in the 10th Anniversary edition of VegNews there was a recipe for raw zucchini hummus that I have been dying to try, because how weird is that? I didn't make it completely raw because I only had regular tahini, but I don't think it would make that much of a difference taste-wise, especially since I cut down the amount of tahini in the recipe by a lot. It called for a 1/2 cup, but tahini is expensive and that would've been my whole jar, so I just used a heaping tablespoon. This is a tasty dip—very light and refreshing, a lovely counterpoint to melodramatic Canadian cop shows.

Raw Zucchini Hummus (makes a little over 1 cup)
Adapted from VegNews

1 zucchini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
paprika, for garnish

Scrape the skin off the zucchini, remove the ends, and chop into little pieces.

In the bowl of a food processor, place all ingredients except paprika.

Blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until humus is quite smooth.

Put hummus in a pretty bowl and garnish with paprika.

Sweet Potato Hummus

Ever since I started to make my own hummus, it seemed silly to buy it. It always tastes better when you make it yourself and it's so easy and cheap. While versatile and delicious, even hummus gets boring after a while. I got the idea to make sweet potato hummus after ordering a "duo of hummus" at a pub in London. I think they actually used squash, but same difference. They also pronounce it "home-is" and spell it "houmus." Those crazy Brits! This dip is great in sandwiches, with veggies, on toast, eaten with a spoon...or maybe I'm the only person that does that. Oh well.

Sweet Potato Hummus (makes 2-3 cups)

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped into squares
1 14-ounce can chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

Place sweet potato in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer over medium-high heat for approximately 10 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

While the sweet potato is cooking, place remaining ingredients (except for the oil) into a food processor and pulse until combined. With the motor running, add 1/4 cup olive oil in a steady stream and process until very smooth.

When the sweet potato is cooked, drain and add to the chickpea mixture. Blend until very smooth, adding more oil to taste. Done!