Grilled Zucchini with White Bean-Artichoke Pesto, Harissa, and Hummus Dressing

I love vegetables, especially roasted and grilled vegetables. When we left Virginia in 2017, we sold our grill. Since then, because finances have been thin, we had no grill until just weeks ago. One of the things I have missed the most is grilled zucchini. Now that I have a grill, I'm working towards satisfying that itch, with the delicious vegetarian summer dinner that you see below.

Grilled Zucchini Platter

Last week, I grilled zucchini and put the squash on a platter with piquillo peppers and olives, then drizzled the platter with harissa and a dressing made of hummus, lemon juice, and olive oil. In the center of the platter, for some protein, I put a bowl of white bean-artichoke pesto. I would have loved some pita with this, but we are trying to shed a few of the many pounds we have gained during this quarantine. The pesto, at Ann's urging and because we love spicy food, has a healthy tablespoon of harissa swirled in.

White Bean-Artichoke Pesto

It seems kind of weird to call this a pesto, but that's what it goes by. This is a very quick spread or dip made from items in my pantry. If you leave out the cheese, you'll need a touch more salt, but the result will be vegan.

1 can cannellini beans (15.5 oz net)

1 can artichoke hearts (8.5 oz net)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

juice of half a lemon (more to taste)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, puree the white beans, artichoke hearts, and garlic to a semi-smooth paste. I like to leave some texture in the final product. Add the salt, lemon juice, and cheese and mix. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto is as loose as you want. Adjust lemon juice and salt to taste.

Quick Harissa

Harissa is a spicy condiment from North Africa, most frequently attributed to Tunisia. Lover of spicy food that I am, I have had a lot of harissa in my life and none that I like better than the quick harissa that I developed at the restaurant. I call it quick harissa because rather than process dried chiles, I make it with Huy Fong Foods' sambal oelek as a base.

I cannot get enough of this delicious sauce. Every batch is different depending on my mood and ingredients at hand, but this is a base recipe. My inspiration originally came from Copeland Marks (a phenomenal culinary writer) and his book The Great Book of Couscous: Classic Cuisines of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 cups sambal oelek

8 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

juice of one lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

Mix the caraway, fennel, and cumin seeds. Reserve one third as whole seeds and grind the remainder in a spice mill. I like the whole seeds in my harissa for texture. Mix all the ingredients and let stand for a few hours: it gets better with age. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. I store mine in the refrigerator after topping it with olive oil. 

Hummus Salad Dressing

I make batches of hummus weekly as hummus is one of my absolute favorite foods. I probably have a recipe for hummus somewhere on this blog, so I'm not going to give a recipe for that here. Do you really need a recipe for chickpeas, garlic, salt, olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice, all whirled up in a food processor?

I use hummus for all kinds of things, including tomato-hummus bisque and a really quick and easy salad dressing, that I mainly use for dressing vegetables.

1/2 cup hummus

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

juice of one lemon

salt

Mix well and adjust the salt and lemon juice as necessary.