Zucchini and Garlic Spread

Submitted by bluemoon downunder

"A low fat, low calorie vegetable spread (with NO cholesterol) which can be used instead of butter or margarine on pita bread, rolls or sandwiches before adding the other ingredients; or as a dip. Adapted from Karen Meyer's 'The Artful Vegetarian', and posted for the Healthy for the Holidays Challenge."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 5 zucchini, medium-sized, sliced
• 2 eggplants, medium-sized, sliced
• 8 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon tamari (see Notes)
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne, to taste
• 1 tablespoon tahini (optional, see Notes)

directions

1. Steam the zucchini and eggplant until tender.
2. Sauté the tomatoes and garlic until very soft, remove from the heat and add the sugar.
3. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender.
4. Serve hot or cold.
5. NOTES: Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds and is used as both for its binding qualities and for flavouring; it is rich in minerals, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. Tahini is an ingredient in most hummus recipes. Tamari is pure, top quality soy sauce, and is free from chemicals and preservatives. It can be used for flavouring in place of added salt or stock cubes in soups, vegetable dishes, pies, casseroles and dressings. Tahini and tamari are available at health food stores and large supermarkets.

Reviews

[Debbwl]

Makes a tasty dip for veggies and pita chips. Made half recipe which yield 8 to 10 servings. While we did enjoy it as a dip we did not like it on our sandwiches. Love how healthy it is. Thanks for the post.

 

[Enjolinfam]

I love how healthy this bread spread is! I halved the recipe and our family enjoyed it with quite a few meals until before it was all gone! I wanted the garlic flavor to be a little stronger, so after I was finished making it as directed I crushed a few more garlic and added it raw to the spread. This worked out really well for us, but we LOVE a lot of garlic! Thanks! Made for 1-2-3 Zaar tag.

 

[Susiecat too]

This is soooo good. It reminds me very much of hummus, which is a staple around this house. In fact, we served this tonight alongside hummus, with some hot, homemade whole wheat flatbreads for dipping. YUMMMM. It came out a gorgeous shade of orangey-red, and was thick and savory. I cut the recipe in half, and it still made a huge bowl full. I will be enjoying this for lunch this weekend. Thanks, bluemoon downunder!

 

[Missy Wombat]

This makes a great dip and plenty of it even with the half recipe I made up. Great way of getting extra vegetables into kids.