squash – no dig home

Over the past two weeks I have been busy with our courses, my garden, picking salad at Charles’ garden and doing the final edit of our book No Dig Organic Home & Garden. We are both really happy with the way it is looks – so colourful! Signed copies can be pre-ordered from Charles’ website here. Publication date is very soon – April 10th 🙂 I have included many of my recipes in the book: for potions, drinks, preserves, cosmetics and of course seasonal food.

During the winter months I regularly make variations of this hummus for our gardening courses. The choice of squash varies – this winter I have used Uchiki Kuri, Crown Prince and Marina di Chioggia with either homegrown Czar beans or chickpeas. It is delicious – thick, rich, full of flavour and a beautiful golden orange. Later, I will use early broad beans with the last of the winter squashes to make this adaptable tasty hummus.

I’ve been asked for the recipe so many times that I promised to share it here.

The Czar beans are a type of runner bean, very easy to grow and dry.

dried beans – Czar is the first on the left

cooked Czar beans with herbs

Uchiki Kuri squash

This recipe makes quite a lot of hummus. It keeps well in the fridge; I also freeze small portions for another time. You’ll need:

2 cups cooked Czar beans or chick peas (soaked overnight and then boiled until tender) – plus more for topping (optional)

2 cups roasted squash – a sweet, nutty variety tastes best

1/2 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic, chopped

juice of one lemon

water or reserved chickpea cooking liquid

1/4 cup olive oil plus extra for drizzling

1 tsp ground coriander seed

1 tsp ground cumin seeds

a small bunch of fresh coriander and/or parsley – plus more to sprinkle on the top (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

smoked paprika (optional)

A food processor – mine is a Magimix – or blender, or a stick blender

Put everything except the smoked paprika and water/cooking liquid into a food processor and whizz.

beans and squash in the blender

adding tahini and garlic

Drizzle the water carefully through the spout in the lid as the ingredients are blending, until everything is thoroughly processed and it has the consistency that you want. Some people prefer a thicker hummus, others a smoother one.

Spoon into a dish…

The hummus is tasty straight from the food processor, but I like to decorate it too. Here, I have topped the hummus with more cooked beans, finely chopped herbs, smoked paprika and a final drizzle of olive oil.