Make a healthy meal more enjoyable by combining roasted vegetables with peanut hummus. Flavourful rosemary roasted peppers, aubergine, cherry tomatoes and sweet garlic taste delicious with a creamy homemade peanut butter hummus. Fresh sweet pear makes it perfect for lunch or mid-week dinner.
Salads and all vegetables, in general, are often on my menu. Sometimes as a main meal other times as a side dish. But, not all vegetables can be enjoyed raw. Or better said, some vegetables taste better when not raw. Wink. And rather than cooking or steaming them, I love to roast them in the oven.
Roasting vegetables is one of the healthiest ways to prepare them. In fact, roasting doesn’t ask for large amounts of oil or other fats. I also find that roasted vegetables have the best aroma. Roasting adds depth and a delicious flavour to the vegetables. They also get sweeter, which makes them more palatable for non-veggie lovers, too. Wink. Oh, you should try the roasted garlic, just like candy. I am not an enthusiast of raw garlic but roasted it’s a delight to eat. Oh my gosh, a whole other level.
For some inspiration to put on your menu, you might check these roasted vegetable recipes: spice roasted pumpkin salad, harissa roasted whole cauliflower, colourful roasted root vegetables, gorgeous roasted Hasselback butternut squash or this roasted aubergine curry.
Additionally, I read somewhere, that keeping the vegetables in the fridge till the moment you roast them, helps retain the nutrients in them. Who knows. Maybe it’s true, maybe not. Either way, vegetables are good for your body because they are rich in fibre, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. They should be on your menu every day. In any form or colour and prepared in the way you like most. Maybe not deep-fried. Wink.
Roasted vegetables are perfect alongside anything: from poultry, meat and rice to fish. You can simply enjoy them with a dip and a slice of bread, too. It makes a perfect vegetarian meal.
Peanut hummus
However, I wanted something creamy on the side of my roasted vegetables. Hummus sounded just perfect. The plan was to whip up some delicious hummus, but, I didn’t have any sesame paste left. Hmmm. That’s where peanuts came to my rescue. We always have peanuts on our shelves. Always. Wink.
Peanuts are a great substitute for tahini paste. It is better if you use natural peanut butter or a homemade one, so it’s not too sweet. Making peanut butter is easier than you might think. Put the peanuts in your food processor, add some salt and blitz until creamy. Done. Wink. Also, most commonly, you’ll see olive oil in the hummus ingredients. I used peanut oil instead. It enriches the flavour even more. Peanuts, yeah!
Hummus is a great dish or side dish. It can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. However, it won’t last that long. At least in my house. It is too good. Wink.
Besides a creamy component, I was also looking for a fruity touch. The pear was a great choice. I recommend picking a juicy and sweet pear. Its fruitiness and sweetness combined with the crunchy texture pair wonderful with roasted vegetables.
Ingredients for 2 portions of roasted vegetables with peanut hummus:
- 200 g chickpeas (canned)
- 50 g peanuts
- 1 Tbsp of peanut oil
- half a lemon
- sea salt
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 aubergine
- a bunch of cherry tomatoes
- 1 garlic head (1 clove for the hummus)
- rosemary
- olive oil
- 1 pear
Start with washing the vegetables. Trim and cut the aubergine into cubes, wedges or strips. Cut the pepper into larger chunks. Cut the top of the garlic head off and wash the cherry tomatoes. You can keep them on the vine or remove them.
Preheat the oven to 190° C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the aubergine, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and the whole garlic head (cut side up) on the baking sheet in one single layer, add the rosemary, drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt. Put in the oven for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are burst and the aubergine is tender.
In the meantime, prepare the peanut hummus. Add 2/3 of the peanuts to the food processor. Blitz until they turn into a creamy consistency. Then, add the chickpeas, a pinch of sea salt, roughly chopped garlic clove and peanut oil and blitz again, to combine. Last but not least, add the rest of the peanuts, squeeze the lemon juice and blitz for 5 seconds (to keep some small peanut chunks).
Wash and cut the pear into wedges.
Finally, arrange the vegetables onto the plates, add a couple of spoons of creamy hummus and squeeze the caramelised garlic out of its skin. These roasted vegetables with peanut hummus will get even better and more vibrant with some wedges of sweet and juicy pear.
Enjoy.
