I have a disparate array of ingredients. I was originally thinking that I might make tzatziki. Although I wanted to roast the squash. Which made me think of making curry, instead. But curry would be better with cubed squash, instead of puréed. Which would be doable, but I've already made a very similar Curry w/ Bengali Squash, Tofu, & Garden Peppers. At the risk of being repetitive, I opted for baba ghanoush, instead. Baba ghanoush works incredibly well with roasted squash. It's typically made with roasted eggplant and chickpeas. Obviously I'm using opo squash for baba ghanoush, instead of eggplant, because that was the entire point of this endeavor. The chickpeas are another story, though.
Chickpeas are best soaked overnight. You can quick soak them. I have quick soaked them before. They're going to be on the firmer side, though. Which is great for things like soups and salads where you don't want the chickpeas to break apart. The entire point of hummus or baba ghanoush is to have creamy chickpeas, though. So, this isn't a recipe that I would recommend quick soaking! Something that works a little bit better with a quick soak is white beans, though. I just so happen to have a plethora of Mayocoba beans. These can also be called canary beans, Mexican yellow beans, or Peruvian beans. They have a creamy texture and work incredibly well in puréed dips.
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I've also been apparently soft-launching a new cat. I got a new kitten right before Christmas and it's very apparent in these series of photos that there are two distinct cats in this. One of which is not a calico and has never made her editorial debut. I try to stay relatively current on posts because I don't want holiday content still during the holidays. As of now, though, I haven't taken any of the two pets down who've passed after 13 and 14 years. Although I'm sure that, at a certain point, they will phase out of the About Me section of this blog. But, for now, the elusive grey kitten is unnamed and unbioed! I'm going to acknowledge her, though. Her name is Lucia. She's 5 months old. She's both excited and terrified by human food.
Variations of Squash Baba Ghanoush
I'm a big fan of baba ghanoush and hummus. They're great in everything from dipping and snacking on to classic falafel. I like to mix squash into hummus. Which does really make it more baba ghanoush than hummus! And I'm a fan of using white beans, instead of chickpeas. I don't often combine the two together like with this Squash & Mayocoba Bean Baba Ghanoush. But there are a plethora of fun ways to mix and match the eggplant and chickpeas.
You can either soak the dried beans overnight (which is simpler, but requires forethought) or quick soak them (which is faster). Quick soaked beans won't soften as easily. They tend to have a bit of a crunch to them. Which is fine for this dish! Although, I wouldn't recommend it for something like hummus where you're going to want a more even, soft cook.You can also do this with chickpeas or other semi-soft white bean. Most white beans work incredibly well with a quick soak. If you're going to use chickpeas, though, they take a lot of time to soften. So, I'd highly recommend soaking them overnight and using a high-powered blender or food processor.
Overnight:Place dried beans in a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak overnight, or for 12-24 hours.The beans will roughly double in size, so make sure to use a large enough bowl and add enough water to accommodate this. Roughly 2-3 inches should be enough. Although it can also help to drain and refill with cold water at least once, especially if you’re soaking for more than 12 hours.
Quick Soak:Add beans to a pot and fill with 8 cups of water. Bring, uncovered, to a boil. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the lid and remove from heat. Let sit for an hour.
Regardless of what method you used, drain and rinse the beans.
Return the beans to the pot and cover with another 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.
Simmer until tender. This can be as little as 30 minutes for pre-soaked white beans. Although quick soaked beans and chickpeas are going to take about 1½-2 hours to soften. You may need to adjust the temperature to keep them from boiling as they cook down.They should still keep their shape and not turn to mush. But theoretically putting a fork in them would split them in half.
Drain the chickpeas immediately after cooking and let cool to the touch.
Roast Opo Squash
This is optional. Opo squash is perfectly edible raw. Just peel the skin and scoop out the large inner seeds. You can easily substitute eggplant or other summer squash here. Roasting it will give an additional depth of flavor. But it is entirely optional.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Peel the opo squash, cut the stem off, and wrap in aluminum foil.
Cook for 45-60 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Let cool or refrigerate until cool to the touch.
Drain the chickpeas immediately after cooking.If you do chickpeas, rather than white beans, rinse and remove the skins. This is optional, but I recommend it specifically for baba ghanoush or hummus because it will result a smoother texture. This is less important for softer beans, though, which are more prone to breaking down.
Baba Ghanoush
Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until mixture forms a smooth paste and you can no longer see pieces of chickpeas.
Once a smooth, consistent texture has been achieved, remove and chill before serving.I usually chill for about an hour. Although it entirely depends on how cool the ingredients were going into the food processor and whether blending warmed up the mixture.
For more information on hummus, I have an article on The Fundamentals of Making Hummus. This includes the chickpea versus garbanzo bean debate, canned versus dried chickpeas, and types of food processors and puréeing that work best (and least best).
As a general rule, I don't like to edit images. Food styling, editing, alteration, and even faking entirely is just as rampant a problem in the recipe realm. Cooking is a very visual art and you can tell when a lot of foods are cooked based on the color. So, when this is altered and you can't use the coloration as a gauge, it makes it quite difficult to follow some recipes. I have an entire article about Food Styling and Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes. My place has very warm lighting, though. So, sometimes my camera overcompensates and ends up with an unnatural hues. I've adjusted the hues, levels, and/or cropped the following images:
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