Summer Harvest Panini

The farmers finally have produce! I'm leaving town for the weekend so I tried not to go too crazy at the market this week, but I picked up some small red potatoes and some baby zucchini from one of the stands. I really can't help myself around tiny things, these were just too cute to pass up!!! Anywho, I had no idea what to do with my veggies so I made some hummus last night figuring that the hummus would be my muse. Of course, I accidentally added too much tahini and oil and not enough liquid to the hummus which left me with a kind of paste (ew) so I went to the store and got some more chickpeas and somehow salvaged my creation into some very tasty hummus! Cue the inspiration (only tasty hummus can act as a muse :P), I decided to grill up my baby zucchini and then add some fresh mint and basil from the garden and make some delicious panini with the free french baguette I got from Panera yesterday (yes free!). Also see below the panini recipe for a recipe for some really tasty dippers for the leftover hummus, yummmmm...

"Summer Harvest Panini"

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Hummus -

2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drain reserving 1/2 cup of liquid then rinse

1 garlic clove

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp Tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 to 1/2 cup reserved chickpea liquid (to desired thickness)

salt to taste

Panini -

1 cup hummus

French baguette (About 16 oz)

Garlic

~1lb baby zucchini, stems trimmed but left intact!

1 tsp EVOO

salt and pepper to taste

Large tomato, thinly sliced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

16 basil leaves, kept whole

A dozen or so mint leaves, sliced

Directions:

To make hummus, process drained and rinsed chickpeas with garlic clove until finely minced, add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

To make panini:

Heat balsamic vinegar in a small saute pan until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes until it has thickened to a syrup consistency (don't do it for too long because it thickens upon standing!) Slice baguette in 4 pieces then cut in half lengthwise to make sandwiches. Rub both sides of baguette with a cut garlic clove and toast for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Preheat grill and toss whole baby zucchini (cut any large ones in half lengthwise) with olive oil and salt and pepper. Grill, turning until brown and tender. Remove and toss with mint leaves. Assemble baguettes by spreading 3-4 Tbsp of hummus on both sides of each sandwich, layer a few tomato slices, 4 basil leaves, and the baby zucchini. Drizzle with the reduced balsamic vinegar and enjoy your sandwich! Try not to get too messy with this one :)

"Crispy potato slices" For dipping in hummus!!!

Ingredients:

6 small red potatoes, thinly sliced

~1 Tbsp EVOO

salt and pepper

1 sprig fresh rosemary chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Toss potato slices with the olive oil, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally until browned and crispy on the edges. Drain on paper towels and dip in hummus, it may sound weird but it tastes amazing!