Harissa Sweet Potatoes with Lentil Tabouli, Hummus and Pickled Onions

Learn our top tips for a creamy smooth hummus the perfect accompaniment to carrots, crackers or these tasty harissa sweet potatoes!

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Tips

When making hummus the aim isn’t just about creating something that tastes good but also has a smooth, creamy texture! So here are our tips for creating a smooth and creamy hummus.

  1. Soak the chickpeas in baking soda, this softens the skin making them easy to peel off. The skins are full of fibre and roughage which is sure to make a not so creamy hummus – so off they go! *if you don’t have the time to remove the skin that’s ok, your hummus will still be delicious just not as smooth.
  2. Add ice cubes. The ice cubes help to whip the hummus into a creamier texture, note if your hummus is looking grainy add an extra ice cube.
  1. Be patient, you will need to scrape down the sides a few times to allow for all the hummus to be the same creamy texture.

Vegetables

  • Swap sweet potato for 3 eggplants. Cut eggplant lengthwise into 6 wedges, drizzle generously with oil and sprinkle over spice mix and toss well to coat. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
  • Swap sweet potato for 8 medium carrots (cut into quarters lengthways), simply toss in the spice mix and drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

Protein

  • Swap sweet potatoes for harissa spiced chicken or lamb.

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 Tbsp Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 600g chicken thighs or 600g lamb chops

Method

  1. Preheat the BBQ or griddle pan.
  2. Combine spices (paprika, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, cumin seeds) salt, pepper and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add chicken or lamb and allow to marinate for 20 minutes.
  3. Grill until cooked through and nicely charred on the outside.

Other

  • If you can’t have tahini swap for olive oil.
  • Add nuts for an extra crunch, we recommend using roasted and roughly chopped almonds or pistachios, pine nuts would also be yummy!
  • If you do not have time to make your own hummus, store bought would also work.
Ingredients

Harissa sweet potatoes

  • 4 medium sweet potatoes (cut into wedges)
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper


Pickled onions

  • ½ red onion (finely sliced)
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt

Hummus

  • 400g chickpeas (1 tin)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup tahini
  • 1 lemon (juice)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 ice cubes
  • 2-3 Tbsp water – optional

Lentil Tabouli  

  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • ½ tsp honey
  • 1 small lemon (juice)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 400g tin of lentils (drained and rinsed)
  • ¼ cup mint (finely chopped)
  • ¼ cup parsley (finely chopped)
  • 1x mini cucumber (finely diced)
  • 1 head of cos (roughly chopped)
  • Chilli flakes (optional)
Method

Harissa sweet potatoes

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, fan bake. (while the oven is heating up make your pickled onions)
  1. Combine spices (paprika, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, cumin seeds) salt and pepper in a small bowl.
  2. Place the sweet potato wedges onto a large roasting tray, drizzle with oil and sprinkle over spice mix and toss well to coat. Spread out on a baking sheet, making sure each wedge has a cut side touching the roasting tray. Roast for 50 minutes, halfway (25 minutes), flip each wedge so the other cut side is touching the tray. Roast an additional 25 minutes or as needed.

Pickled onions

  1. Add sliced onion to a glass jar.
  2. In a small saucepan add the water, vinegar, sugar and salt.
  3. Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat.
  4. Pour the boiling vinegar mixture over the onions and let pickle while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Hummus

  1. Start by draining the canned chickpeas, and place them into a bowl with warm water and baking soda. Allow the chickpeas to soak for 5 minutes, then drain and peel off the skins (see tips).
  1. Place the peeled chickpeas into a food processor or Nutri bullet, blend until the chickpeas resemble a dry powder crumb (the finer the better).
  1. Add the remaining ingredients (tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and ice cubes) to the blender with the chickpeas. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy this can take up to 3 – 4 minutes (be patient). You will need to stop from time to time to scrape down the sides. If your tahini is too thick add 1 Tbsp of water at a time till it is at your desired consistency.
  1. Set aside ready to plate up.

Lentil Tabouli  

  1. Add dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to a medium-size bowl, mix well till fully incorporated.
  2. Add lentils, mint, parsley and cucumber, toss well and adjust seasoning to taste.

Assembling the salad

  1. Spread ¼ of the hummus on the base of each plate, top with the sweet potato wedges and scatter over the roughly chopped cos, Tabouli  and pickled onions.
Variations

Vegetables

  • Swap sweet potato for 3 eggplants. Cut eggplant lengthwise into 6 wedges, drizzle generously with oil and sprinkle over spice mix and toss well to coat. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
  • Swap sweet potato for 8 medium carrots (cut into quarters lengthways), simply toss in the spice mix and drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.

Protein

  • Swap sweet potatoes for harissa spiced chicken or lamb.

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 Tbsp Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 600g chicken thighs or 600g lamb chops

Method

  1. Preheat the BBQ or griddle pan.
  2. Combine spices (paprika, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, cumin seeds) salt, pepper and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add chicken or lamb and allow to marinate for 20 minutes.
  3. Grill until cooked through and nicely charred on the outside.

Other

  • If you can’t have tahini swap for olive oil.
  • Add nuts for an extra crunch, we recommend using roasted and roughly chopped almonds or pistachios, pine nuts would also be yummy!
  • If you do not have time to make your own hummus, store bought would also work.

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