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Zummus (Zucchini Hummus)

How would you feel about making this Official Zucchini Week? I didn’t plant zucchini this year, and don’t have any neighbours offering me armloads of it. But I was teaching a class last week, and the conversation turned to zucchini. (This was the night before the fritters.) One of the two guys in the class offered up the suggestion of zucchini hummus. Yes, you can put just about anything in hummus, but it had never crossed my mind to add zucchini.

I came home and googled it, wondering if it had to be cooked first to soften it up. There were a couple references, but not many – one using cooked zucchini, the others tossing it into the food processor raw. Raw! And so I did, and it pureed to the consistency of hummus. It did. A revelation.

What instantly came to mind was the term “dieter’s delight”, that old adage used to describe plates of unadorned hamburgers topped with a scoop of cottage cheese, tuna salad in lettuce cups, and the like. But truly, here is a deliciously light and creamy base for a dip that’s all vegetables, no sour cream, mayo or cream cheese. It somehow becomes creamy and dippable, and takes on the flavours it mingles with. I added the usual hummus ingredients – lemon and garlic and tahini, along with a couple big spoonfuls of leftover hummus I had in the fridge. You could add chickpeas, or just do straight-up zucchini. I strongly encourage you to wing it.

But if that’s just not the way you roll, here’s a recipe to go with:

Zummus (Zucchini Hummus)

AuthorJulie

Yields1 Serving

1 medium-large zucchini, cut into chunks
1/2-1 cup chickpeas, drained (optional)
1/4-1/2 cup tahini
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of a lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1

Whiz everything in a food processor until relatively smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days. Makes about 2 cups.

Ingredients

 1 medium-large zucchini, cut into chunks
 1/2-1 cup chickpeas, drained (optional)
 1/4-1/2 cup tahini
 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
 juice of a lemon
 2 Tbsp. olive oil
 1/2 tsp. cumin (optional)
 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)

Directions

1

Whiz everything in a food processor until relatively smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days. Makes about 2 cups.

Zummus (Zucchini Hummus)
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18 comments on “Zummus (Zucchini Hummus)

  1. Cory Lievers
    September 15, 2012 at 9:21 pm

    Yum. Love zucchini.

  2. Manon from Ontario
    September 15, 2012 at 9:49 pm

    Any idea on the protein and calorie per serving?

    Look refreshing 🙂

    MFO

  3. Lisa
    September 15, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    Brilliant! I am so making this! @Manon, you can plug Julie’s recipe into fitday.com and it will sort out what the nutritional breakdown is. You will just have to choose what a serving size is and divide accordingly.

  4. emmycooks
    September 15, 2012 at 11:25 pm

    I might have to try this just for the very cute name. Zummus. Zummus. I love it. The texture looks perfect, that’s not at all what I would have imagined zucchini would do in a food processor. Zummus.

  5. bellini
    September 16, 2012 at 5:43 am

    I did plant 4 zucchini plants in my garden and despite the fact that I took many of the blossoms away fro consumption I was left with far too many zucchini. This is the perfect solution! Love it!!

  6. Carolyn
    September 16, 2012 at 8:17 am

    Love the name — and love the picture with Buzz Lightyear! Hopefully zucchinis will still be at the market when I get home.

  7. CathyH
    September 16, 2012 at 9:21 am

    Delicious! The Bridlewood Sobey’s had GIGANTIC zucchini yesterday, outside in bins. I may have to go back and get some.

  8. NurseJennifer
    September 16, 2012 at 9:34 am

    Does this mean that I can eat twice as much and get credit for eating my veggies? Brilliant!!! I think I need to try this. Thanks for the cool idea.

  9. Rebecca
    September 16, 2012 at 9:41 am

    Hey Julie – can you give me a quick reminder on those panko zucchini fries? I made them a ton last summer but can’t quite remember and the link from your site doesn’t work. Was it:
    1. Cut zucchini into strips
    2. Mix panko and seasonings
    3. Whisk egg in separate bowl.
    4. Dip fries in egg and then panko.
    5. Bake at ____ for ____
    6. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice

    Sound about right? Please help fill in the blanks!

  10. Rebecca
    September 16, 2012 at 9:42 am

    Never mind – found it!

  11. Laura
    September 16, 2012 at 10:37 am

    This is brilliant! And so much prettier than regular hummus!

  12. Kalyn
    September 16, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Everyone already used the first word that came to mind for me too, brilliant!

  13. kickpleat
    September 16, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    This is brilliant!! I’ve been looking for more zucchini recipes and I love the sound of this! Nicely played 🙂

  14. Nicole
    September 16, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    Hmmm. This is a little bit mind-blowing. I wonder…if one could make a cheese-like dip if one added nutritional yeast, garlic, etc. Because now with my new non-dairy thing I am getting desperate. Would it be good? Would it be disgusting? I just don’t know. But perhaps I’ll try and let you know. What’s the worst that could happen?

  15. Jan @ Family Bites
    September 17, 2012 at 9:12 am

    I love it! I put a cup of grated zucchini into our egg salad and the kids don’t mind one bit. Great name, too…

  16. jaime alcaraz montreal
    September 19, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    Wow wow wow, love this recipe…going to try it, very very soon!…such a GREAT idea for a low-cal version of an original that i simply adore!! jaime alcaraz montreal

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