Roasted Yellow Summer Squash Hummus
I LOVE hummus, well I guess I can say I LOVE all Mediterranean food!! At least I have not tried anything I don't like yet. As a family we do do some beans/legumes, but not a whole lot. And, especially now that I am working through some gut issues I try to stay away from them. The problem with legumes now is that most of us don't prepare them in the traditional method which is soaking them to break down the anti-nutrients that they contain such as the phytic acid and lectins. These anti-nutrients poke holes in our intestinal lining which can lead to leaky gut. So if you are trying to heal your gut, have an autoimmune disease, or find you have a lot of digestive issues it is probably a good idea to eliminate legumes from your diet at least temporarily.
Since it is summer yellow squash is abundant at all the local farmers market. I sometimes get into a funk preparing it the same way over and over again which can get boring. We had a bunch on hand so I decided to try making a hummus out of them. I have seen recipes for legume free hummus made with cauliflower and butternut squash, but have not yet come across one made with yellow summer squash. If you are on a strict paleo diet, doing a Whole30, or just eliminating legumes for health issues and miss hummus than this will be a great alternative for you! I personally think it is hard to even tell the difference between this hummus and traditional hummus. The only difference that I seen is that traditional hummus is thicker. But, if you go just by taste they are very similar. Roasting the squash with some garlic before gives it a delicious flavor! I hope you guys enjoy :)
Servings: Approximately 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients:
- 2 Large Yellow Summer Squash cubed
- 1/4 cup Tahini
- 1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 5 Garlic Cloves ( 4 to roast leave 1 to add raw)
- Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degree F and line a baking sheet with bleach free parchment paper.
- Spread your cubed squash, 4 garlic cloves on the baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Roast this for 30-35 minutes or until squash is beginning to brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool down for 10-15 min.
- In a food processor add the roasted squash mixture along with the rest of the ingredients and puree until completely smooth.
- Hummus is now ready to eat. It tastes good both warm or cold. I like to drizzle a little extra olive oil on the top. Enjoy with some cut up veggies such as cucumber, bell pepper and carrots which are just a few of my favorites to dip!!