I love Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food. Which naturally includes hummus.

But sometimes, a girl needs to spice things up and get out there and get to know some other dips! (Don’t worry hummus, you’ll always have a special place in my heart.)

But seriously, give this recipe a try! It’s easy, delicious and nutritious!

Here’s what you’ll need to make one batch:

> 1 medium sized zucchini, or two small ones
> 1 cup plain greek yogurt
> 3-4 cloves of garlic
> 1/2 cup of tahini
> The juice of 1/2 a lemon
> 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
> salt to taste
> 1 tbsp olive oil

To make this luscious dip, we first need to bake the zucchini.

Slice it in half and place in a baking dish.

Drizzle with a tiny bit of oil, and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees until the zucchini is soft (how long it takes depends on how big the zucchini is, but it won’t take too long. Give it about 10 min).

Once it’s done, take it out of the oven, peal off the skin and mash it thoroughly with a fork.

Then toss the mashed zucchini and the other ingredients in a bowl and mix it thoroughly.

Now it’s time to let it chill, literally. Put it in the refrigerator and let the ingredients hang out and get to know each other for at least an hour.

After that, it’ll be ready to serve with flat bread, chips, or some crisp veggies.

And there you have it, a wonderful, nutritious and unique dip. Use it just like you would use hummus or baba ganoush. Or in place of the ever-popular artichoke dip as an appetizer at parties and family get-togethers.

After all, variety is the spice of life.

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Editor: Emma Ruffin

Photo: Wikimedia Commons