Roasted Sweet Potato, Red Onions and Lemon Hummus

This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell of Table and Dish and were originally published at 365Barrington.com as a part of the Heinen’s 4 P.M. Panic Series.

Roasted Sweet Potato, Red Onions and Lemon Hummus started as a leftover throw-together salad. Now, because these flavors have become a family favorite, we don’t wait for leftover sides. We make them the star of the meal.

In this week’s Heinen’s “4PM Panic” post I’ve put together a simple dinner that fills everyone with healthy superfoods while tasting great. It’s a complex combination of flavors that can be ready in 30 minutes, starting with roasted sweet potatoes and red onions. (Even my kids who have a total onion aversion, love these) They are served over baby spinach and baby arugula and topped with toasted pine nuts and lemon hummus dressing.

This dish can be totally vegetarian or, if you have a house full of hungry athletes who need a bit more substance, you can opt to add grilled chicken and your favorite pasta to make it a bigger salad.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onion Salad

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Red Onions & Lemon Hummus

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
2 red onions, cut into wedges
1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil.
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1 cup of sabra hummus
Juice of 1/2 lemon
optional: some arugula or spinach to serve over tossed with lemon olive oil vinaigrette.
optional: grilled chicken breast and al dente orecchiette pasta tossed with the greens for added protein.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425º
On parchment-lined baking sheets, lay out the sweet potato and red onion each on their own cooking sheet. The onion will cook faster than the sweet potato so you want to be able to take that out sooner. Drizzle with the oil, and season with salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly.
Bake them for 30-40 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Keep an eye on the onions, since they might cook faster. If they are ready sooner than the potato, remove the onions and allow the potato to cook until done.
While the potatoes and onions are baking, prepare the hummus. In a small bowl, mix together the hummus and lemon juice. I like enough lemon juice to thin it down so that it easily drizzles over the vegetables.
Toast the pine nuts in a small dry frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the pine nuts along with a dash of salt and cook for about two minutes, until the nuts are golden brown. Remove from the heat and transfer them to a small bowl so that they do not continue to cook.
To serve, spread the vegetables out on a serving platter over a bed of greens (arugula, etc – if you choose), and then drizzle the hummus on top. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top with a drizzle of old pressed olive oil.