Thanks to my friend, Chiana, for the incredibly large zucchini.
It’s not even the height of zucchini season, and I’ve already been given a zucchini that’s roughly the size of a baseball bat. Plus, I have two productive zucchini plants growing in the garden. So I made a new rule: if it doesn’t have zucchini in it, it’s not coming out of my kitchen. I have broken that rule, but not before making zucchini ribbon and chard pasta, chocolate chip zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini cookies and zucchini hummus. I still have about 5 cups of shredded zucchini in the freezer just waiting to be added to bread, cookies or other baked goods, and two more zucchinis are growing away in the garden. I have a feeling I’ll be seeking out more zucchini recipes before the season is over. (If you’ve got ‘em, share ‘em!)
Zucchini Hummus
Zucchini hummus topped with a bit of basil in the food processor.
I started making zucchini hummus after our friends, Phil and Tara, made it for us. Since the zucchini contains so much water, you won’t need any oil.
1 large zucchini, shredded
1/4 cup tahini
juice from one lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped basil (or any other herb/flavoring you’d like to try; roasted red peppers or sun dried tomatoes are also good)
salt and pepper, to taste
Place the shredded zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with salt; Let sit for about 10 minutes, then squeeze out any excess moisture. Place zucchini, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and basil (or other flavoring) in a food processor and blend until the mixture is the consistency of hummus. Season with salt and pepper.
I like to serve zucchini hummus with tomatoes and cuke nuts (another item our garden is producing with over-abundance).
I also serve zucchini hummus in a swiss chard wrap sandwich with tomatoes and cucumbers.