Zummus {A zucchini-lima twist on hummus}

It’s funny how a recipe evolves sometimes. The other night I was talking to my yoga instructor/artist/foodie friend and she was telling me how she had made Baba Ganoush (a middle eastern eggplant dip) with zucchini, and she had done the zucchini on the grill so it had this wonderful smoky flavor and I was thinking to myself “I gotta try that” … especially because I have several lovely zucchini left that my sister brought me and I love Baba Ganoush ALMOST as much as I love hummus.

Then the next day, I got onto facebook and two of my foodie friends (Katrin from Running with the Deviled Eggs and Terra from Cafe Terra) had both done a hummus with lima beans. Lima beans? Seriously? Wow. They both looked totally yummy … but the really funny part about this was Katrin was challenging me and another of our friends to do this too.

Now I have never in my life cooked with lima beans, but I thought, what the heck, I’ll take your challenge. I stopped and got lima beans on my way home from yoga. As I went into the kitchen to begin making it, the idea struck me to combine these two ideas and make some sort of baba ga-hummus thing … see then I could have the best of both worlds all in one! … but with zucchini and lima beans in lieu of the eggplant and chickpeas.

I was trying to think of a good name for this crazy creation, mixing baba ganoush, hummus, lima beans, zucchini … I settled on “zummus” … mostly because I have a thing for the letter Z and hey, we are totally on a zucchini kick here lately. By the way, it’s every bit as good (or better) than any hummus or baba ganoush you’ve ever tasted. You would never guess it’s made with zucchini and lima beans. It’s got that yummy hummus texture and the garlicky tahini taste with a hint of smokiness. I totally love this stuff.

Zummus

This makes a small amount.  If you’re making it for a crowd, double or triple the recipe. You’re gonna need it … trust me.

• About 1 cup of zucchini pulp
• Smoked paprika
• 1 cup frozen lima beans
• 2 – 5 cloves of garlic (depending on how garlicky you want it!)
• 1 Tablespoon tahini
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• a handful of fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• juice of 3/4 of a lime

Directions:

1. Cut a large zucchini lengthwise and using a grapefruit spoon or other such instrument that’s good for digging into summer squash, hollow out some of the pulp inside. It’s quite alright if it’s seedy because this is all going to get roasted and blended into a puree. Chop the pulp into chunks. (Save the zucchini shells for stuffing …)
2. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray, set the zucchini pieces on it in a single layer, and sprinkle liberally with smoked paprika. Bake at 350 for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the zucchini is completely tender. The zucchini cooks down as it roasts, so you should end up with about 1/2 cup of zucchini after you’re done roasting.
3. Now, measure out your lima beans and put them in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a couple tablespoons of water, cover the bowl with a plate and microwave for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring about halfway through, or until all the beans are nice and tender. (If you’re making a bigger batch, you’ll have to adjust the cooking time to get all the beans to cook.)
4. Put the roasted zucchini and the lima beans (complete with cooking water!) in a food processor or handi chopper and add the remaining ingredients. Blend until everything becomes a lovely paste. Add water to get it to the consistency you desire. I like it a little thick, so it’s spreadable.
5. Serve with toasted pita wedges or flatbread or vegies. It also makes a great spread for sandwiches, wraps and little toasts.

Check out the other lima bean hummus recipes:

• Katrin: Running with the Deviled Eggs
• Terra: Cafe Terra

This recipe was shared at Scrumptious Sunday, Manic Monday, Thursday’s Treasures, Fit & Fabulous Fridays, Share It Saturdays and Katherine Martinelli’s Garlic Bloghop.