Sweet Potato Hummus

I adapted this recipe of Sweet Potato Hummus from  this recipe I found online. My recipe makes quite a lot, but somehow between the two of us and through sharing it with friends, it always seems to disappear! It is a good dish to take to parties. You could halve the recipe if you don't want a large quantity on your hands. Another note about the recipe is that homemade hummus requires a food processor. I have tried making hummus in an ordinary blender in the past, and blenders don't seem to handle it well. Perhaps one of the fancy blender brands such as Vitamix could handle it. The measurements in the recipe are not exact. I usually eyeball them, so adjust to taste!

Ingredients

•  1 lb. dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 2 large sweet potatoes (or 3 medium), in large cubes
• 4 medium lemons, juiced
• 6 tablespoon tahini
• 6 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 jalapenos, tops cut off and de-seeded
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• salt
• pepper
• chile powder

Suggested accompaniments

• pita
• crackers or chips
• cucumber
• carrot
• jicama
• red bell pepper
• tomato 
• celery
• cilantro
• lettuce or spinach
• avocado or guacamole
• use your imagination

Steps

1.  Soak the chickpeas for several hours in water. (This can be sped up by soaking them in hot water for less time.) Add the sweet potatoes, making sure water just covers the sweet potatoes. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Boil until the chickpeas are done, approximately 30-40 minutes. Let cool. (Do not throw out the cooking water.)
2. As the chickpeas cool, prepare the other ingredients. With a slotted spoon, ladle half of the chickpea mixture into the food processor.  Add roughly half of the other ingredients. Process, adding the cooking liquid until desired consistency and smoothness is reached. Err on the side of slightly more liquid, since the hummus will thicken with time. Adjust flavors by adding more salt, more lemon juice, salt or chile powder etc. Repeat with the other half of the ingredients.
3. Serve warm or chilled with cut up vegetables and pita.