MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED SWEET POTATOES with Shawarma Spiced Chickpeas

I like to make and keep spice blends in my pantry. One of my favorites is shawarma spice that I often use to roast chickpeas or sauté mushrooms with. This recipe comes together quick because I had store bought hummus and tabouli on hand. Potatoes and chickpeas roast for 30 minutes and the tahini garlic sauce recipe, from Cookie & Kate, whips up in a few minutes. Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed

15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup hummus

1 cup tabouli

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Pita bread(optional)

(Shawarma Spice Blend)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp pepper

(Tahini Garlic Sauce)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup tahini

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cumin

6 Tbsp ice water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Pat chickpeas dry with a towel. In a bowl toss chickpeas with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 Tbsp of the shawarma spice blend. Place on one half of a lightly greased baking sheet.

2. Slice sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Brush with remaining olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on other half of baking sheet. Bake sweet potatoes and chickpeas for 30 minutes.

3. While sweet potatoes baking, make tahini garlic sauce. In a small bowl stir together minced garlic and lemon juice. Let sit 10 minutes. Using a small sieve/strainer, pour the garlic and lemon juice into another small bowl through the sieve, pressing the mixture with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard garlic. Add tahini, salt and cumin to strained lemon juice and stir. Wisk in ice water until creamy. Set aside. *add additional ice water if you like it thinner.

4. To serve, spread 1/4 cup hummus onto plates. Place sweet potato half onto hummus and mash the flesh a little with a fork. Top with 1/4 cup tabouli and 1/4 of the shawarma spiced chickpeas. Drizzle with tahini garlic sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with pita bread if desired.