October is the perfect time to add fresh pumpkin to your diet. Pumpkin is a highly nutritious squash, loaded with antioxidants and disease-fighting vitamins and minerals.

Last year, I highlighted eight top health reasons to cook with fresh pumpkin. You can read them here.

There are so many ways to include pumpkin in your diet. If you’re looking for a fun and easy recipe, here’s a tasty pumpkin dip that you, your family and guests can enjoy over a glass of white wine:

Roasted pumpkin and red pepper hummus.

Ingredients

• one 4oo gram can of chickpeas drained and rinsed well (makes about  1 1/2 cups of chickpeas when drained)
• 1 1/2 cups cubed pumpkin* (you can buy fresh pumpkin that is already cubed)
• 2 garlic buds, chopped in chunks
• 1/4 cup red roasted peppers in glass jar (yes, they are ready to use and come in a glass jar!)
• 1/3 cup tahini**
• 1/3  cup fresh lemon juice
• Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• one handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped fine
• paprika

* can substitute pumpkin with butternut squash, which is also very tasty!

**Sesame paste now available in most supermarkets.

Procedure

Heat oven at 200°C. Put pumpkin cubes and garlic in a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil just to coat. Mix well. Spread the cubes and garlic on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes in the oven, turning from time to time, until they shrink slightly and are golden.

In a food processor, combine the roasted pumpkin and garlic, chickpeas, red pepper, tahini, lemon juice and process until smooth. Drizzle a little olive oil and process again to make it smoother. Add some cumin, salt and ground pepper and process a little more. Transfer the hummus to a bowl. Add the chopped coriander leaves and hand mix until well incorporated.

Spoon some of the hummus into a dip bowl and sprinkle the top with paprika. You can also sprinkle some roasted pumpkin seeds  on the top. Cover and refrigerate the remaining hummus for future use.

Serve with raw veggies, crisps, mini toasts, kale or corn chips.

Cheers!