Over the holidays my husband and I did an overnight at the TWA Hotel in New York, and one of the highlights was our cocktail hour on Connie — the TWA plane that has been restored and turned into a bar and lounge. We ordered our drinks (martini for me, old fashioned for him) and settled on a hummus plate for a snack to fill us up before we went into Manhattan for a Broadway show. Our little mezze platter arrived along with our drinks and it was such a surprise hit — the hummus was delicious, the veggies were colorful and fresh, and the whole dish filled us up much more than we had expected. I’ve been thinking about it ever since and wanted to recreate it!
One of our goals for 2020 is to have at least one vegetarian meal a week, and this was such a tasty option to enjoy. My husband and I grazed on this for the meal, and I made Jane a plate with some of the hummus and pita to go along with her usual fare of berries and chicken fingers. Making the hummus is pretty simple, after you prepare the chickpeas you simply throw all of the other ingredients into a food processor or blender to puree until smooth. Cooking the chickpeas and removing the skins results in a much smoother texture, so it’s worth the extra step! The hummus is flavored with roasted garlic and a shortcut I like to use is grabbing roasted garlic from the olive bar at my grocery store while I’m picking up other toppings for the hummus. I also have an easy step-by-step guide for roasted garlic in my cookbook!
To serve the hummus, I prepared lots of different dippers and toppings like grainy crackers and crisps, crunchy carrots and cucumber slices, colorful radishes and cauliflower florets, and some marinated olives and feta from my grocery store’s antipasto bar. You can totally make it your own, mixing and matching your favorite flavors for a delicious snacking spread. Get the full recipe below: 
- 29 oz. Can of Chickpeas
- 1 Tsp. Baking Soda
- 1 Tsp. Salt
- ¼ Cup of Tahini
- ½ Cup of Olive Oil
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- ½ Tsp of Cumin
- ½ Tsp of Paprika
- 6-8 Roasted Garlic Cloves
- 1 Raw garlic clove, optional
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Veggies, crackers, olives and feta for dipping and topping
- Combine chickpeas with baking soda and salt in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, then drain and rinse the chickpeas in cold water. Continue to shake them in the colander while rinsing under cold water to help separate the skin from the bean.
- Remove and discard the chickpea skin and transfer the chickpeas to a blender or food processor.
- Add tahini, olive oil, juice of one lemon, cumin, paprika, and roasted garlic cloves to the blender or food processor. If desired, add an additional raw garlic clove if you like a stronger garlic flavor.
- Blend to combine until very smooth, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and veggies, crackers, olives and feta.
