hummus stuffed squash blossoms

baked squash blossoms stuffed w/ beet hummus by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal


so remember last week when i was all, gardening on my fire escape is awesome; it's so rewarding and amazing. well this past week we woke up to find that 2 of the largest of our squash somewhat viciously pulled from their stems and, regretfully, chewed up and spit out!  i kept that half-eaten on the counter in the kitchen for a couple days because i didn't have it in me to throw such a little beauty away...(insert a very sad emoji face).  then, a few days later, i found little green aphids on a blossom.  luckily i found them early enough to where they didn't cause any damage.  i was the last person to think that a second floor fire escape would attract squirrels (!) and then bugs!  so i guess in the end, nature is awesome but you can't expect it to be easy when you take it into your own hands.  lesson learned.

before frank and i left a few weeks ago to visit his family, i harvested a good amount of squash blossoms from my garden that i didn't want to go to waste, along with a couple of beets.  i was planning on making hummus to take on the trip with me and thought that i might as well stuff the blossoms since i had them.  i used my baked squash blossom recipe from last year because i wanted to keep it a bit more clean than the fried route.  i share this recipe today, because not only is hummus seriously amazing inside a flower, BUT, baked hummus is a thing and i love it!  it takes on a bit of smokiness in the oven and it lent such an awesome, and unexpected flavor. look out for everything with baked hummus come fall 2014!

just a couple of notes:



baked squash blossoms stuffed w/ beet hummus (v +gf)

ingredients

  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup tahini paste
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 3 small beets, roasted and skins removed
  • water, to thin
  • one dozen squash blossoms, stamens removed
  • olive oil, for baking
  • large grain sea salt, for sprinkling


instructions

  • preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • place chickpeas, lemon juice, salt, tahini, garlic, and beets into a food processor and pulse until blended.  add water, a teaspoon at a time, to thin consistency (you don't want to add too much water because you want hummus to be on the thicker side so when it bakes it doesn't run).  transfer hummus to a small mixing bowl
  • on a clean work surface, carefully stuff each squash blossom with a few teaspoons of beet hummus and gently twist the end to close; repeat with remaining blossoms.  place them on the prepared baking sheet; using a pastry brush, evenly brush each blossom with a light coat of olive oil.  sprinkle with the salt and transfer to the oven.  bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until crisp and golden
  • let the squash blossoms cool for a minute or two, then serve immediately 

enjoy!