So green pulp you say? Yeah, I know what you are thinking…..what?
I do a lot of juicing, especially in the summer because you have so much variety available to you! But I always feel super guilty throwing away the leftover vegetable pulp. It is so full of fiber and nutritional benefits!
And hey, if you want all that magical nutritious fiber and juice in one easy serving then whip yourself up a smoothie, they are awesome too! Sometimes you just crave juice though, so much more refreshing on a hot summer day.
Once upon a time I made some crackers with juice pulp and they were delicious, but crackers take a long time to dry out, even if you are using a dehydrator. I was like, I want to make something fast, something I can enjoy right away! I don’t want to sit around and wait for crackers! (I can be so impatient!) So I decided I would make hummus out of the pulp and kind of see how it turned out. So I got out my science tools and did a little experimenting. Great things have been discovered with just some ingredients and a food processor!
I happened across some beautiful zucchini with their blossoms still attached from Farmhouse Organics at the Wallingford Farmers Market. I knew right then and there that zucchini would be a perfect addition to the hummus. Honestly, this recipe can be made either way, just using the zucchini and it is delicious as well. The textures turn out a little different which I will discuss down below in my famous TIPS column. (You know all you have to do these days is call something famous to make it so…..right?)
Since I bought the zucchini with the blossoms I knew I had to find something to do with them. Zucchini blossoms have a very delicate texture with just a nice note of the zucchini flavor. I decided I would make a pesto to add an extra flavor profile to the hummus.
My tongue was doing a little samba inside my mouth thanking me for this combo. The two paired delightfully together!
An interesting story is that the hummus did not really turn out as expected. All the flavors of hummus were there; the lemon, tahini, garlic, and some added nutritional yeast but the consistency was that of a raw spinach dip. Probably because of all the raw fibrous pulp I put into the dip but it turned out to be a spectacular dip all the same. So if your looking for a spinach dip sometime but don’t want all the dairy and cheese that goes with it, this dip and you were made for each other!
Hooray for recipe discoveries that you didn’t even mean to achieve!
Talk about everything kind of working out for me in a cosmic “all coming together” sort of way. I wanted some crackers to go with this dip and I was sure that the farmers market would have some homemade crackers at one of their booths.
….I feel like that is not weird to assume.
Anyway, none to be found! I needed to make the recipe and do the photos that day and I was running out of time! The closest I found were these adorable breadsticks made by Tall Grass Bakery over in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. #lovelocalproducts
Turns out! It was a perfect fit! Since the consistency was like spinach dip the breadsticks worked much better than crackers would have. So I lucked out and ended up getting to try these delicious breadsticks all at the same time. Yay!
Zucchini “Green Pulp” Hummus with Zucchini Blossom Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini, large cubes
- 1 cup juicing pulp**
- 1/3 cup tahini sesame seed paste
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 4 teaspoons white miso paste
- Half of a lemon, squeezed
- 1 drop doTERRA lemon essential oil*
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1/3 cup olive oil, more for drizzling
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Zucchini pesto for topping (recipe below)
Zucchini Blossom Pesto
- 2 cups loosely packed zucchini blossoms
- 4 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add to the bowl of a food processor the zucchini and the juice pulp, pulse for about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic, miso paste, tahini, garlic cloves, nutritional yeast, lemon and lemon essential oil. Pulse until well combined. (Scraping down the sides when necessary.) With the machine running, stream in olive oil until it becomes the desired consistency. Taste and adjust the lemon and salt if needed. Transfer over to a bowl. Top with zucchini blossom pesto (directions below.) Dig in!
Zucchini Blossom Pesto
- In a clean food processor bowl, add the zucchini blossoms, pine nuts, garlic, salt and pulse until finely ground. With the machine running slowly stream in the olive oil until you have achieved the consistency you desire. Adjust salt if needed.
Notes
