You may be familiar with the ever-popular Middle Eastern dip, baba ghanoush, whose main ingredients are eggplant, tahini and yogurt. But when my mom had a bunch of zucchini cores left over from preparing mahshi, a traditional Arabic dish of stuffed squash, eggplant, peppers, or tomatoes, she didn’t want to let the cores go to waste - and this kousa-ghanoush recipe was born. Cooking zucchini down on the stove mimics the jammy texture of roasted eggplant, and mixing it with tahini, labneh or greek yogurt, cumin, and lemon turns it into an incredible dip, and my new favorite way to eat zucchini.

INGREDIENTS

3 large zucchini

1/4 cup tahini

2 tbsp. labneh or greek yogurt

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt + more, for taste

1/2 tsp. cumin

DIRECTIONS

Peel the skin off the zucchini really well; you want to ensure there is no dark green coloring on the zucchini. Cut off the ends, and roughly chop each zucchini into cubes. Place zucchini in a medium pot with 1 tsp. salt, and cook on medium-low heat, uncovered, until zucchini is very soft, mashing zucchini as it cooks down, 25-30 minutes. Most of the water should evaporate from the zucchini by then, but if you find yours is still watery, bump the heat to medium-high for about 5-10 minutes. Let mashed zucchini cool for 20 minutes.

Transfer zucchini to a bowl and mix with tahini, labneh/greek yogurt, and cumin until incorporated. Taste and add additional salt to your liking. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week before serving.

To serve, spoon the zucchini dip on a plate with mint, sumac, pomegranate seeds, and a drizzle of olive oil or extra tahini. Or with whatever you like, really!

store: in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

diet: vegetarian, gluten-free

eat it with: hot pita bread + other dips for a mezze spread, roasted chicken as a dinner side, or on top of toast with jammy eggs.