Zucchini Fries with Homemade Pesto Hummus!

Technically this recipe is, in fact, TWO recipes in one, but the ingredients overlap so much and let’s face it, who doesn’t want some amazing homemade pesto hummus to have on hand, even if you don’t eat it all with these fries…? (Side note: I didn’t eat it all, either but I ended up using the rest the following day in another dish…so keep your eyes peeled for that post soon!)

My bestie is on her own health journey these days. She's not necessarily plant-based but every now and then I can woo her over to the green side for a bit...like this week when she texted me that she was making zucchini fries! Her recipe called for egg whites but I knew I could probably pull off essentially the same thing with some aquafaba AND since I would be opening a can of chickpeas anyway homemade hummus to dip them in just seemed like the obvious choice!

What you are going to need to buy:

Zucchini - quantity is going to just depend on how many fries you want. What you see pictured is one medium zucchini and I gobbled them all up myself, so…make your best choices!

One can of Chickpeas

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)

Bread Crumbs (I ended up using my own because I had some crutons that I had made from some leftover sourdough bread…but any will work. Use traditional Japanese Panko for a vegan version!)

Italian Seasoning

Nutritional Yeast - (If you don’t care about this recipe being vegan, you can use some powdered parmesan.)

Garlic Powder (Yes, there is fresh garlic and powdered garlic in this recipe. Don’t judge)

Onion Powder

Paprika

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Lemon Juice

Basil (and/or Italian Parsley)

Olive Oil

What you are going to need to do:

Let’s start with the Zucchini Fries!

Preheat over to 400 degrees.

Open the can of chickpeas and drain, reserving the liquid.

In a small bowl toss 1/4 cup of the chickpeas with 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper, until fully coated.

Place chickpeas on a baking tray with a silicone mat or lined with baking paper.

Cut your zucchini into your prefered “fry” sized pieces. I will say that, in the end I did prefer the thinner fries because they were crispier.

With a stand mixer or traditional hand mixer, whip the liquid from the chickpeas (called aquafaba) until light and and fluffy (resembling whipped egg whites) - This can take several minutes.

In a shallow dish or a rimmed plate mix together bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. (Quantities will vary based on how many fries you are making. Don’t stress out…this is hard to really mess up.)

Dip the zucchini fries into the whipped aquafaba making sure to fully coat and then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Continue until all fries are coated.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, flipping 1/2 through cooking.

Okay, onto the HUMMUS and PESTO!

While the chickpeas and the fries are in the oven you can make the hummus!

Into a blender dump the rest of the chickpeas along with 3 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic (along with a little of the oil that the garlic is paked in…yum!), the juice of one lemon (or a couple tablespoons of white cooking vinegar.)

Blend until smooth adding additional oil, or even some of the whipped aquafaba, until your desired consistency is achieved.

Dump…scrape… or otherwise evacuate your hummus from the blender into a bowl. Get out all you can but don’t be too picky about it. No need to rinse the blender.

Back into the blender add 1 to 1.5 cups of fresh basil (and other greens of your choice) with 3-4 tablespoons of oil, salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Blend until the herbs are broken down but not completely smooth.

Back to the fries…

You can, for the last 2 minutes, turn your oven from bake to broil to get some nice toasted color on your fries but watch this carefully. Every oven is different and you don’t want them to burn!

Let fries cool on the tray for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Serve fries with pesto that you have swirled into the hummus…and garnished with the roasted chickpeas!
(Try not to eat the entire plate yourself)

Enjoy!