Carrot Hummus

Carrot Hummus
   
Carrot Hummus
Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post; tableware from Crate and Barrel

WEEKNIGHT VEGETARIAN JUN 5, 2013

So good you may have a difficult time transferring it from food processor to bowl without making a serious dent in it. Serve with crudités (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.

Make Ahead: The hummus can be refrigerated for 5 days.

SERVINGS:

Tested size: 6-8 servings; makes 1 3/4 cups (less)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon coriander seed
4 tablespoons olive or canola oil, plus more for drizzling (consider using less)
1 teaspoon honey
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:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Have a medium roasting pan at hand.

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.

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.

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, tahini and the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning as needed.

Transfer to a serving dish and lightly drizzle with more oil.

Adapted from "River Cottage Veg: 200 Inspired Vegetable Recipes," by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Ten Speed Press, 2013).

Tested by Joe Yonan.