Roasted Zucchini Dip with Feta and Parsley

We have zucchini growing out of our ears this season, literally. OK, no not literally, but there are so many our fruit basket is overflowing with them…

So, when I come across a recipe that calls for eggplant or something similar, I just replace with zucchini and call it a day. This recipe is inspired by a grilled eggplant dip, but since we don’t have eggplant and we have more zucchini than we know what to do with; well, what the heck. With added ingredients and much needed inspiration, this dip made it to the kitchen and was welcomed with open mouths by the ohm home. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

What you will need:

• 3 medium sized zucchinis, ends removed and halved
• 2 hot peppers, halved (remove seeds for a milder spice)
• 6 cloves of garlic, skins intact
• 1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 cup of parsley, plus more for garnish
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, or about 15oz freshly cooked (see this recipe for how to cook garbanzo beans from raw)
• 1/2 lb sheep’s feta, plus more for topping
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• olive oil for cooking and mixing
• plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper
• food processor or blender

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Drizzle a baking dish with olive oil and place zucchini face down along side the garlic, hot peppers, and red onion. Salt and pepper everything.
2. Roast uncovered for about 20 minutes or until a fork is inserted into the zucchini easily.
3. Leave the garlic, peppers, and onion to cool. Roughly cut zucchini and place in colander to drain for about 15-20 minutes. You can press down on the zucchini to quicken this process.
4. Once everything is cooled, remove skins from garlic and place in food processor along with zucchini, hot peppers, onion, lemon juice, parsley, garbanzo beans, feta, garlic powder, about a tablespoon more olive oil, plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper. Blend until everything is chopped well and smooth.
5. Taste and add salt if needed, transfer to a bowl and serve chilled or at room temperature with blue corn chips or as a spread for your favorite sandwich.

Makes about 3 cups of dip