Basil Pine Nut Hummus (Holiday Hummus)

You know what usually doesn’t go together? Health and holidays. Well, I’m happy to report that you can jazz up hummus (which is pretty damn healthy if I say so myself) and serve it at your holiday parties without feeling #lame. Like traditional hummus, this version has a chickpea base. I then added a lot of basil to give a green pigment (I celebrate Christmas, so I wanted it to be festive!) and an herbacious flavor. Herbacious is a new word that I’m working on — basically, it means a lot of herbal flavor (in a great way.) Finally, I added some pine nuts with the tahini to really give this not only a rich creaminess, but some winter flare with the essence of pine.

You can jazz this up anyway you prefer, but due to my Christmas-celebrating nature, I topped it with more pine nuts, olive oil, salt, pepper, and some pomegranate. I personally think the pomegranate adds way more than just beautiful presentation…each little jewel is a burst of tart sweetness with every bite of creamy hummus. I think it goes together perfectly and really embodies the holidays. If you don’t like sweet and savory, just nix it and go for some cherry tomatoes! The world is your bowl of hummus and I’m just here to cheer you on while you make and eat it.

If you’re bored of me writing, feel free to scroll down to the recipe. To be honest, I’ve had to beef up the amount I write on here due to SEO on Google. I really am not trying to be annoying, just trying to make my recipes searchable. LOL. BUT, I also have a lot to say. Who doesn’t have a lot to say about hummus?! I just want to point out quickly that my first rendition of this recipe incorporated arugula, fried sage, and a hint of rosemary. It was a much earthier version of this hummus, and while sage and rosemary embody winter (in my opinion,) it didn’t come together as herbacious and beautiful as I thought. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a favorite. The reason I switched to basil is because I actually think basil can bring winter vibes, when paired with the right complimentary ingredients. The pine nuts are a must here. Either way, if you like earthier vibes, feel free to switch out basil for arugula and add more lemon to balance it. Here’s a picture of that version below, which let it be known, I still ate the entire thing. I’m showing thsi version also, so you understand how I laid out the crudite, as well.

Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for….