Carrot Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups fresh orange carrots, peeled and cut 2 " chunks
• 4 medium rainbow carrots, peeled
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 can no salt garbanzo beans*, drained, preferably organic
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and chopped, about 1 1/2 t.
• 6 tablespoons fresh carrot juice, or more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Steam the orange carrots until crisp tender, about 6 - 8 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In the meantime, pulse the rainbow carrots in a food processor until chopped small, about 1/3" pieces. Spead them on a sheet pan with a silpat liner or parchment paper. Roast in the oven until nicely roasted, about 10 - 12 minutes. Cool.
2. Place the steamed carrots and the drained garbanzo beans in a food processor with the tahini, garlic, carrot juice and sea salt. Process until very smooth. Place in a bowl, add the roasted carrot pieces and stir. Fold in 2 T. of extra virgin olive oil. Taste for salt, add more carrot juice to thin if desired.
3. Serving Suggestions: Serve with pita crisps or your favorite bread. Top endive spears or cucumber slices (or cups) with the hummus. Sprinkle with your favorite chopped herb. Top with micro greens for a special touch.
4. In Photo: I rolled my homemade whole-grain naan bread thinly, and cut out 2 " circles. In a seasoned cast iron skillet, I cooked each circle until blistered and cooked through. See Linked Recipe below.
5. * One 15 ounce can of garbanzo beans yields about one cup. Alternately, soak 1/3 cup of dry garbanzo beans in cold water. Let stand over night. Drain and cook in cool water just to cover until tender.

This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of it's author, Karen Sheer.