52 Weeks of Hummus //Healthy //Herbs //Potager //Recipes
Grilled Summer Squash Hummus
June 14
3 min read
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Summer Squash with a Twist
Grilled summer squash hummus is a fun way to enjoy the bounty of all the squash varieties in one refreshing + light dish perfect for warmer weather.
The Modern Potager Kitchen Garden
The joy of the modern potager is getting to expand your culinary skills and make restaurant-quality meals at home. Picking fresh ingredients from the garden and turning them into something that awakens your tastebuds and thrills is really what life is all about.
It should come as no surprise that I have a high appreciation of historical foods as an heirloom gardener. One of the oldest and most historically relevant dishes in human history is hummus.
And I could eat hummus morning, noon, and night. On its own with fresh flatbreads, alongside eggs, or loaded with roasted veggies. It’s this love of hummus that led Matthew to adamantly state, “You cannot survive on hummus and cucumbers alone.” As we shared a plate of one of my favorite variations, roasted red pepper hummus, with radishes, cucumbers, and herbs from the showcase garden, the challenge of his statement kept dancing in my mind.
While it made me laugh in the moment, the notion that I could not survive off such a healthy dietary staple sent me down a path of cultural exploration and adventures in the kitchen for weeks on end. I wanted to understand the lore surrounding hummus and its impact upon the world. And truth be told, I wanted to discover if one could survive on hummus without getting bored.
In short, I’ve accepted the challenge to explore all that hummus has to offer in both traditional and new ways with the help of some fantastic local chefs, food bloggers, and a little creativity. Together, we’ll make a year’s worth of delicious hummus variations—52 recipes that feature the best of seasonal produce and pantry essentials.
We’ll test various cooking techniques, discussing the pros and cons of each method to achieve multiple results. While some chefs swear by using dried chickpeas and removing the skins, today’s high-powered blenders make quick work of tinned beans with their skins intact.
THE HISTORY OF HUMMUS
The earliest known origins of hummus date back to the 13th century, with several cultures claiming the creation of the savory dip. Yotam Ottolenghi, chef and cookbook author, writes about the hummus wars in his book “Jerusalem: A Cookbook.” But Israel isn’t the only country where people argue over the best hummus recipe. Palestinians, Egyptian Arabs, Greeks, and other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries also declare hummus as their dish, each region adding its own nuances.
The essence of the classic hummus recipe are chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and salt. As cooking methods have changed over the centuries, the textural preferences and techniques used to create the creamiest dip have altered the base recipes.
HISTORY OF SUMMER SQUASH
Squash is one of the most important and earliest plants domesticated in Mexico and North America, along with maize and beans. Remains of squash seeds, rind and stems were found in caves in Mexico and were dated to 8,000BC.
The word squash originally comes from the Narragansett nation, who called it askutasquash – meaning raw or uncooked. Around 20 species of wild squashgrew among the temperate to tropical climates throughout the native range.
The Spanish, who brought them back to Europe, called summer squashes calabacitas, which is still widely used in Latin America. Once in Europe, the Italians coined the big-boned relatives as zucca and its more petite kin as zucchini, a name which gained popularity in the U.S. from Italian immigrants. In France, it became known as courge and courgette, which is how they’re referred to in the U.K.
Grilled Summer Squash Hummus
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of fresh hummus | 4 servings
Inspired by some of my favorite flavors of the summer season and years of enjoying hummus
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups hydrated + cooked chickpeas (garbanzo) beans, reserve bean liquid for blending hummus (or one can of chickpeas)
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about one lemon)
4 cloves garlic confit
2-3 medium summer squashes – crookneck, Mexican zucchini, Patty Pan sliced or cut into cubes, grilled
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
Pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon + a glug of really good extra virgin olive oil
For garnish
Grilled summer squash
Lemon zest
Salt + pepper
Fresh herbs – parsley, dill, or fennel fronds
1) Heat grill (or inside grill pan) over medium heat. Slice (or cube) the summer squash and place into a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grilled squash just until tender. Set aside to cool
2) While the grilled summer squash is cooling, drain the chickpeas; reserving the liquid. In a high-powered blender, add chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, ground pepper, and a small pinch of sea salt. Blend at high speed until smooth, scraping down the sides if needed. If the mixture is not blending well, add 1-2 teaspoons of bean liquid or water to help thin. Add one circle of olive oil (about 2 teaspoons) and blend again. Once hummus texture is to your liking, gently fold in half of the grilled squash. Blend again to combine; there should be small bits of squash visible in the hummus.
4) Place hummus in a shallow bowl. Garnish with grilled squash and fresh herbs. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh pepper and flaky salt for extra visual appeal.
Serve the hummus with warm flatbreads, crispy pita chips, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and radishes. Excellent as a hearty lunch or served alongside grilled chicken or fish.
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