Discover a fresh and innovative twist on traditional hummus with Chef John’s Green, No-Bean Hummus recipe! In this exciting video, we'll show you how to create a creamy and flavorful hummus without the beans. Packed with vibrant green ingredients, this hummus is not only delicious but also incredibly nutritious. Whether you're looking for a healthy snack, appetizer, or a unique dip for your veggie platter, this Green, No-Bean Hummus is sure to impress and delight your taste buds.
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00:00 Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Green No Bean Hummus.
00:09 That's right, we are making this very exciting hummus alternative with one of the least exciting
00:14 vegetables ever.
00:15 And we did that by using a trick that pretty much only chefs know.
00:19 And just so everybody's clear, we're not making this because it's low-cal, or keto-friendly,
00:25 or for most people, easier to digest.
00:27 No, the real reason we're making this is because it tastes really, really good.
00:32 And this truly is one of my all-time favorite dips.
00:35 So with that, let's go ahead and get started by prepping our zucchini.
00:39 And what I'll do first is go ahead and cut this in quarters.
00:42 And because this one is so big, after quartering, I'm going to go ahead and trim out the seeds.
00:47 Oh, and pro tip, trim the ends of your zucchini before you quarter it, so you can do that
00:52 once instead of four times.
00:55 But anyway, if you're using a big old zucchini like this, what we'll need to do is slice
00:58 down to trim out those seeds, because those are kind of fibrous and don't really have
01:03 any flavor.
01:04 And the flavor they do have is kind of bitter.
01:07 So if your zucchini looked like this, that's definitely something you're going to want
01:10 to do first.
01:12 And then once we do have those quartered and seeded, and possibly trimmed, we'll go ahead
01:16 and cut them up into about one and a half inch pieces, or at least something close.
01:21 And by the way, if you're using standard zucchini from the grocery store, they're generally
01:25 much smaller and younger than this, and you probably won't need to take out any seeds.
01:30 And you could just skip to this part, where you're cutting them into chunks.
01:34 And then once we have those cut up, we'll go ahead and transfer those into a bowl.
01:38 And in case you're keeping score at home, I cut up three.
01:41 And then what we'll do is go ahead and sprinkle over two tablespoons of kosher salt, and then
01:46 we'll toss it with that zucchini very thoroughly.
01:49 And I know that looks like an insane amount of salt, but don't worry, we're going to rinse
01:52 most of it off.
01:54 And it's this chef's secret that's going to take care of the three major complaints about
01:58 zucchini.
02:00 And that is it's watery, a little bit bitter, and pretty much tasteless.
02:04 But if we toss it with salt like this, and then let it sit for about 15 or 20 minutes,
02:09 that's going to pull a whole bunch of moisture out of the zucchini, which will make it less
02:13 watery, remove the bitterness, and concentrate those sweet, natural flavors.
02:19 And you don't have to, but about halfway through, I do like to give it another toss.
02:24 And while this is pretty much done every single time zucchini is used in a restaurant, if
02:28 that is the chef is any good, this is almost never done in the home kitchen, which really
02:33 is a shame, since it makes such a huge difference.
02:37 So I let mine sit about 15 minutes, tossing it once halfway through.
02:42 And right here you're going to get a great look at just how much liquid has been pulled
02:45 out.
02:47 And once that's been accomplished, what we'll do is grab a strainer, and we will rinse that
02:50 zucchini really well, and then we'll let it drain really well.
02:54 At which point we can transfer that into a bowl, and then we'll drizzle over a couple
02:58 tablespoons of olive oil, and then we'll toss that until it's evenly coated.
03:04 And that's it.
03:05 Once our zucchini's been lubricated, we can transfer that onto a foil lined baking sheet,
03:10 and we'll arrange those pieces as close as we can together, while still keeping them
03:14 in a single layer.
03:16 And the reason we want everything kind of nice and tight together, is because once we're
03:20 done, we're going to pop these under the broiler for about five or six minutes, or until they're
03:25 lightly charred, and hopefully look like this.
03:29 And then what we'll do is give these a toss, and then rearrange them into that nice tight
03:33 single layer again.
03:35 And while we're tossing, if some of the brown spots facing up end up facing down even better,
03:40 that way the other side can get a little bit of color as well.
03:44 So we'll pop these back under the broiler for another five or six minutes, or until
03:48 they're just barely tender, but not soft, which is exactly what I accomplished here.
03:54 And then what we'll do is grab our strainer again, and we'll go ahead and transfer our
03:58 broiled zucchini in, or grilled zucchini as they call it in England.
04:04 And then what we'll do is give those a little press, and we will simply let those sit there
04:08 and drain until they've cooled down all the way to room temp.
04:12 So I let mine sit there for about 45 minutes while I was doing some other stuff.
04:17 And you're probably not going to get too much, but you will notice some more liquid has drained
04:21 out.
04:23 And then what we'll do at this point is transfer that into a blender, or a container like this,
04:28 if we're going to use a stick blender, and we will add the rest of our ingredients.
04:33 And since we're trying to call this a hummus, that will definitely include some tahini,
04:37 which as you probably know is basically a sesame seed butter.
04:41 And then we are definitely also going to need some raw garlic, and I'm going to go with
04:45 about three cloves.
04:47 But everything in here is to taste.
04:49 And then besides tahini and garlic, the other critical hummus ingredient would be some freshly
04:54 squeezed lemon juice.
04:56 And again, this is to taste, so I usually start with a half, and then go from there.
05:01 And then I'm also going to toss in some freshly sliced basil leaves, since that is such a
05:06 perfect herb with zucchini.
05:08 And then we will season this up with some salt, as well as some ground cumin, some freshly
05:14 ground black pepper, a few shakes of cayenne, of course, since that's good for the blood
05:20 pressure and the libido.
05:22 And that's it.
05:23 We'll finish up with a little bit of olive oil, at which point we can blend this as smooth
05:28 as we want.
05:30 And I have no way of knowing how smooth you want yours, but I'm going to try to get mine
05:34 pretty smooth, and fairly hummus-like in texture.
05:38 And yes, you can definitely get it smoother in a regular blender, but I am partial to
05:42 this immersion blender.
05:44 And as you can see, as long as you blend it for a couple minutes, we can get this relatively
05:48 smooth.
05:50 And right here, I determined I had reached the texture I was going for.
05:54 So I went ahead and cleaned that off, and then gave it a quick taste, just to see if
05:59 it maybe needed more salt, or possibly another squeeze of lemon.
06:04 But I'm happy to report I thought it was perfect, which means it's ready to wrap and pop in
06:09 the fridge until it's thoroughly chilled.
06:12 Okay, you could serve this right away, but it's just not going to be as good.
06:16 All right, I think the taste and texture are better cold, so I went ahead and popped that
06:21 in the fridge for a few hours, at which point I transferred some into a serving bowl surrounded
06:26 by some blue potato chips.
06:28 I know, pita bread would have been a more classic choice, but man, I really love potato
06:33 chips, blue or otherwise.
06:37 And then before we garnish, I like to take a spoon and do sort of a decorative swirl
06:41 on the top, just to make that surface a little more visually interesting, and create some
06:46 dramatic shadows.
06:48 And once that was swirled, I drizzled over a little bit of olive oil, before finishing
06:53 up with some chopped pistachios, since they are green, and pair perfectly with everything
06:58 else in this.
07:00 But if you wanted, you could use some fresh herb, or whatever else you want.
07:04 I mean, you are after all the Teddy Demas, of what you think will please us, so as usual,
07:10 please customize this as you see fit.
07:12 And that's it, I grabbed a chip and dug in.
07:15 And that my friends, truly is shockingly delicious.
07:20 And the reason it's a shock, is because when I say the word delicious, nobody, and I mean
07:25 nobody thinks of zucchini.
07:28 But by using that salting technique, and then roasting it under the broiler, we've eliminated
07:33 all the things people don't like about zucchini, and ended up with something super savory,
07:38 with a gorgeous earthy sweetness, that marries perfectly with everything else we put in here.
07:43 And no, it doesn't taste exactly like hummus, but I really do think it's close enough.
07:48 Okay, it does have a similar flavor profile, but in a much, much lighter delivery system,
07:54 which on a hot summer day, might be exactly what you're in the mood for.
07:59 Especially if those hot summer days include any long car trips, if you know what I'm saying.
08:05 But as I mentioned in the intro, we are not making this because it's more artsy, and less
08:09 fartsy.
08:10 We are making this because it's a profoundly delicious dip, that even the biggest zucchini
08:14 haters will have to admit is awesome.
08:18 Which reminds me, if you do have some zucchini haters coming to the party, don't even tell
08:23 them this has zucchini in it.
08:25 Okay, let them eat about half a bowl first, and then tell them.
08:29 And trust me, they will be shocked, and amazed, and impressed, and possibly annoyed, but mostly
08:35 impressed.
08:36 And I should mention, culinarily speaking, this is probably closer to a baba ganoush
08:41 than a hummus.
08:42 So if you were going to make that, and wanted to take a break from the eggplant, you could
08:47 certainly follow this recipe, and call it zucchini baba ganoush.
08:51 But anyway, I went with green no-bean hummus, because I know there's a lot of people that
08:55 love hummus, but unfortunately the garbanzo beans in hummus do not love them.
09:01 But no matter what you call this, it's very easy to make, very nutritious, and as I've
09:06 already mentioned about five times, incredibly delicious.
09:10 Which is why I really do hope you give this a try soon.
09:14 So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
09:19 more info as usual.
09:21 And as always, enjoy!
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