Ever heard of using zucchini in a hummus recipe? It’s amazing what you’ll come up with when you’ve got fifty zucchinis lying around the house. Anyone with a zucchini plant in their garden probably knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Tonight I was looking for a light summer snack, and I just wasn’t feeling plain greens or carrot sticks. How could I dress them and still adhere to this healthy, somewhat raw diet I’m curious about? Never fear, Gone Raw is here! I did a search for dip, and found several hummus recipes would fit the bill. I frankensteined together a dish from a few they listed, and wow – you almost wouldn’t know that it wasn’t made of chickpeas.
Since it’s made from zucchini, this hummus recipe is very light and fluffy. It’s a perfect summer dip, and if you like, you can cut back on the oil to be a little nicer to your cardiovascular system. It’s perfect for carrots, celery, sliced peppers… you name it!
Light Zucchini Hummus Recipe
2 zucchini, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup raw tahini
1/3 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil*
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
Blend ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth, adding more salt and lemon juice to taste if you like. Don’t blend too long or the friction of the blades will cook your hummus.
*Edited to add: since this is a cold recipe, you could always substitute flax oil for the olive oil. Not sure how it would taste, but I can imagine it would be quite good!
Here are more great uses for those prolific zukes:
Zucchini Risotto
Sauté of Zucchini, Almonds, and Pecorino
Herbed Zucchini and Feta Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust
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this recipe has been totally haunting me!! looks awesome.. love your blog keep up the good work.
Julee
Thanks Julee! I appreciate your reading.
mmmm! sounds fantastic.
Thank you! It’s so much lighter than just using chickpeas. Perfect for summer.
Where can I find tahini? I live in a super rural, super small community…can’t find it in the supermarket. I don’t have a food processor. Is there a way to make it at home with simple kitchen implements like a blender?
Jeanne, tahini’s essentially a blend of sesame seeds and olive oil. You can find it in a health food store, or else in a middle eastern grocery. In a comment below, Akila and Tarrant both offer up great advice for making it yourself.
Interesting idea, Stephanie, and it looks delicious. I will need to try it.
Jeanne, tahini is just a blended mixture of sesame seeds and olive oil. About.com has a recipe for it here: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/tahinirecipe.htm
Instead of using the food processor, you should be able to use the blender, but just do it in small batches — my mom makes a similar paste from sesame seeds and canola oil for use in Indian cooking using a blender. I haven’t made it at home but it looks very simple. I know that you can also order tahini online. Good luck finding it!
Thanks for this, Akila! A blender would definitely work, or else a hand blender/mini chopper.
This sounds fantastic. I haven’t ever considered adding zucchini to my hummus.
Jeanne- you can substitute peanut butter and a bit of sesame oil for tahini in most recipes.
Tarrant, let me know what you think once you give it a try. I’m especially curious to see what it’s like with peanut butter, but I think it would be good!
I usually use chickpeas, but one can makes too much for two people, and my husband always forgets about the leftovers. The substitution of zucchini sounds ingenious. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Chickpeas tend to be really filling, too – this is nice and light, and won’t leave you feeling over-bloated on a hot afternoon.
Such a good idea, I am totally making this.
Please report back and let me know how you like it!
I love hummus, not a huge fan of zucchini, but this recipe looks amazing! Plus, I’m trying to find creative ways to use the zucchini from my CSA. Will try this out soon.
Thanks!
I’m not a huge zucchini fan either. Not sure what it is – maybe it’s the texture? This recipe didn’t tip off the anti-zucchini feeling, though!
I’d never have thought of putting zukes and tahini together but it’s got to be worth a try. Goodness knows I have plenty of zukes!
It’s that time of year, isn’t it?
Hey are you coming back to the states for BlogHer Food? It would be great to see you!
I would *so* love to be able to go to BlogHer Food – that and the Foodbuzz Festival – but I can’t quite justify another trip to the States so soon
Maybe next year though – there’s just so much that’s worth going back for!
Things really are blowing up right now! Are there any similar events in Europe? Just give me a reason to go and the ability to write off my airfare! I’ve never been across the Atlantic (shhh, don’t tell anyone
I won’t tell
Unfortunately, there are no similar events going on over on this side of the Atlantic that I know of, though if I get wind of anything I’ll let you know!
Thanks!
No, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of zuke hummus, but gotta try it. Still have molto zukes left over from my post. Thanks for clever idea!
Ha, I have a ton of zucchinis that a friend dropped off at my doorstep. Still no idea what I’m going to do with 15 pounds of zukes…
This is a great idea. I, too, am beseiged by zucchini
It’s such a lovely time of year!
No need to squeeze out the water in the shredded zucchini? I needed a new raw food lunch idea at work. And its a toss up between this with crudites and this cream of zuchinni soup from the raw freedom community. Hmmm…
This hummus looks delicious!
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