Golden Sunshine Roasted Veg Spread

There truly is no end to the different ingredients you can combine to make vegetable based spreads, and the "Golden Sunshine Roasted Veg Spread" (page 17) is a perfect example of that. One might never consider blending roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, bell pepper and onion to make a creamy spread for crackers, toast, or bagels, but once you make this you'll wonder why not! There is definitely a golden theme to this spread, with the deep orange yams and carrots, and yellow bell pepper and onion. The roasted vegetables come together into creamy perfection with the addition of tahini, giving it slight overtones of hummus. The spread is quite sweet, as you might expect with the vegetables being used, and I thought it needed some contrasting zest to perk things up, so I added a clove of garlic and a dash of cayenne to the vegetables when blending them in the food processor. Instead of roasting the veggies in the oven, my husband put them in a grilling basket and cooked them on the barbeque. I thought this added a more complex flavor to the end product as well.

 

Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

 

üOmit the oil when roasting the vegetables; use a small amount of vegetable broth instead.