Hummus-Roasted Vegetables with Za’atar and Pomegranate Recipe

kellie anderson

10 years ago

Today I was supposed to be writing up two recipes for clients, cooking a mega-huge vegetable and chickpea tagine for two classes on Wednesday, meeting the in-laws for a late lunch, cleaning the house, and then packing my case for a morning train to London. Did I accomplish these things? Yes. Was I distracted. Of course.

I am very easily distracted. Anyone who knows me will vouch for this annoying trait. I try and cover it up by being fairly efficient, and perhaps even a little officious, but my “oh look! a squirrel!” moments burst through more often than not. It’s also why I don’t sleep well.

I have been told I think too much. About everything. Mostly good stuff though. Such as this great way to use hummus.

The idea of coating a vegetable with hummus is not original to me. I was lucky enough to catch a mention on Twitter of hummus on white potatoes, and knew I had to try this for myself. At first I was just going to try it as suggested, but the other day I decided I would try it slathered on sweet potatoes. And then I thought, why not add red onions? And if we are going to add onions, then aubergines might as well join in the hummus bath time too. This quickly progressed to thinking chickpeas roasted in this sultry, creamy potion would be the crowning glory of crispy textural nirvana. But then I saw the pomegranate…

So, in between balancing on a step ladder shooting these images, I was also babysitting a tagine for 16, editing images on my laptop, and wondering if I had money for my morning taxi.

In all the chaos of what should have been a quiet Sunday I think I may have sent my clients each others’ images and text, but at least I think I got this right. One of my better distractions. Let me know what you think.

Are you easily distracted? Do you drop everything for food? Do tell. 🙂

Hummus-Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas with Za'atar and Pomegranate Recipe

Servings: 4
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Take roasted veggies to another level by slathering in hummus! It sounds crazy, but it really works. Think healthy, almost crunchy coating, encasing soft, baked pieces of your favourite vegetables and you will get the gist. The protein-rich chickpeas crisp up and the ruby-red pomegranate seeds provide a colourful, textural and sweet contrast. And za’atar, well if you don’t know about za’atar then we can’t be friends. Just kidding ;-). xx

One large or two small sweet potatoes, scrubbed

1 small aubergine/eggplant, washed

1 red onion, peeled

1 tin of chickpeas, drained rinsed and lightly patted with kitchen roll

4 tbsp hummus (here is my favourite recipe; add preserved lemon if you have it – mmm)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp za’atar (here is my za’atar recipe {down at the bottom}, but this dry spice, seed & herb blend is available in most large supermarkets and in many delis)

Seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate

Preheat the oven to 170C (fan)/190C/375F.

1. Cut the sweet potatoes and aubergines into fairly chunky bite-sized pieces (they shrink in the oven), slice the onion into about 12 slices (I kept a wee bit of the end attached to keep the slices intact). Pop the vegetables into a mixing bowl, along with the drained chickpeas.

2. Dollop the humus on top and mix together the olive oil and za’atar drizzle over. Mix everything with your hands and pour onto two baking sheets. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving, topped with pomegranate seeds.