Recipe: Sweet Potato Hummus

Student engagement is always high with farm to school,” shares Charleston Elementary School Principal Christopher Lawson. “Kids are doing taste tests, planting in the greenhouse, cooking in the kitchen, and creating snacks for the school. And, they’re learning  transferable skills—collaboration and cooperation.”

As a statewide farm to school project, we partner with agencies and organizations across Vermont to support schools in building connections among the 3Cs—the classroom, cafeteria, and community—so all kids can know where their food comes from.

We recently headed to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom to work alongside staff from Charleston Elementary School, a Vermont Agency of Agriculture Farm to School grantee. Along with Green Mountain Farm-to-School, we spent the day trying out food systems activities educators can bring into their classrooms, and brainstorming new ways to connect students to their neighboring farmers and producers.

And, in true farm to school fashion, creating and sharing food was central to the day. Try out the Sweet Potato Hummus we whipped up together, a quick and delicious alternative to your typical chickpea spread:

Sweet Potato Hummus

At-home scale, yields 1-2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1½ Tbsp olive oil
• ½  15-oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1½ Tbsp tahini
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• Juice of ½  lemon
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• ⅛ tsp cumin

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake sweet potato in a baking dish for 45-60 minutes, until cooked through and tender.
• While the sweet potato cools, add other ingredients to a food processor. Once the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, remove skin and add flesh to other ingredients.
• Process until smooth, and serve! Hummus can be topped with a sprinkle of cayenne, if desired.

School Nutrition Programs Scale, yields ~15 cups

Ingredients:

• 8 medium sweet potatoes
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 7 ½ cups chickpeas
• ¾ cup tahini
• 12 cloves garlic, peeled
• Juice of 4 lemons
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin

Use the method above for this volume, too. 

Recipe adapted by Green Mountain Farm-to-School from Cookie and Kate.

Members of the Charleston Elementary farm to school team: Principal Christopher Lawson, educator Elisabeth Thompson, educator Laurinda Maxwell, and Green Mountain Farm-to-School coach Elyse Perambo.