Fermented Winter Squash Hummus

This recipe comes to us from the book Ferment Your Vegetables! We have tinkered with it only slightly and must give credit where it is due. It’s nice to find a recipe that is both fermented and easily accessible. This recipe makes about 3 cups of golden, rich hummus that pairs well with other seasonal fare. We liked it as a dip but is also nice smeared artfully across a plate and used as a kind of bottom layer to place cooked greens or kale salad on. It would be more like a conventional hummus if it had garbanzo beans in it; if you miss their chalky contribution to the texture, add half a cup of cooked beans to the blender and whirl them in.

Ingredients
1 pound of winter squash, such as butternut, acorn, delicata, or kabocha
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 cups filtered water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil, or hazelnut oil
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons brine from fermentation of squash
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds


Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Remove the seeds, and scrape away the membrane surrounding them with a spoon.

Slice the stem from the top, but leave a slice with the peel on at the top or bottom of the squash, to use as a weight.

Using a large, sharp knife, cut the peeled butternut into 1’ cubes.

Pack the cubed winter squash into a clean quart jar.

Stir the sea salt into a partial measure of warm water, and stir to dissolve. Top off with cold water to make the full 2 cup measure.
Pour the brine into the quart jar, over the top of the squash, making sure the brine covers all of the vegetables.
Weigh the squash pieces down with a glass or ceramic weight, or with the reserved piece of unpeeled squash.
Secure a jar-top fermentation lid on top of the jar, or be willing to manually release trapped CO2 from the jar a few times a day, while it ferments.
Allow the squash to ferment at room temperature for 6 days to 2 weeks.
When the desired flavor is reached, strain the brine from the squash, reserving at least 2 tablespoons for use in the next steps.

Place the squash, oils, tahini, and 1 tablespoon of brine in a blender or food processor, and blend on high, until a smooth, uniform texture is reached. Add more brine or oil, if necessary to adjust texture. Taste and adjust seasoning; more salt or pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice or a dash of cumin?

Spoon the hummus into a bowl and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle with pumpkin seed oil, and scatter toasted pumpkin seeds over the top to serve.

Store uneaten portion in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Over to You

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