This lemony, smoky hummus, made with parsnips (yes, parsnips!) instead of chickpeas is one of the most delicious spreads/dips ever. Thickly spread on toast, scooped up with vegetables, or dipped into with crackers, it is just delicious!
I went a wee bit overboard with my purchase of parsnips the other day, so following my testing of the parsnip-chickpea flour pizza crust from the other day, I set to work crafting a few more options with my plethora of remainders.
First up, this spread/dip/hummus. Following my recent recipe for Roasted Beet Hummus, several of you wrote to ask if I could do something similar with a more neutral vegetable (or, as one dear reader wrote, “ANYTHING other than beets!!!). I get it, not everyone loves beets (including everyone in my house except me; I am including the cat).
I am pleased to announce that this is a vegetable hummus that will be (happily) devoured by one and all. It all starts with parsnips, the pale cousin to carrots.
Peel and cube the parsnips, toss with olive oil and salt, and then roast for a short spell. This caramelizes the parsnip’s natural sugars, which results in an especially rich and nuanced hummus.
Let the parsnips cool, and then give them a whiz in the food processor with a double dose of lemon (zest and juice), smoked paprika, and almond butter. You can use tahini (sesame seed paste), too, but almond butter heightens the South of Spain combination of flavors.
In sum, this is a velvety spread (or dip) that you can savor all week long (all while gloating about eating your vegetables!).
- 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into small pieces (about ¾-inch)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- ¼ cup almond butter or tahini
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pimenton (smoked paprika)
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- On a large, rimmed baking sheet, toss the parsnips with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Roast in the preheated oven for 12 to 16 minutes until very easily pierced with tines of a fork. Let cool completely.
- Place the cooled parsnips, almond butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, smoked paprika, remaining olive oil and remaining salt in a food processor. Process until smooth. Adjust salt to taste. Eat!
