Everything Hummus

Feb 2020

Sinkology is proud to present Emily Schuermann, our food-loving guest blogger who runs Food for a Year. Emily is here to share some recipes she has created exclusively for the Sinkology blog that reflect her view of a copper sink: simple, timeless, affordable, and beautifully rustic.
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Graze boards are one of the hottest food trends for 2020. I love the mix of foods and textures and colors that come together on graze boards. And the combinations, themes and options are literally limitless — so much so that they can be a little intimidating if you’ve never compiled one before.

So, I have a few tips and one outstanding recipe to help you as you attempt to incorporate this theme into real life!

Keep it simple

Size is a big consideration in preparing boards. The larger the board, the more intricate and expensive it becomes. So, start off with a small 2-6 person board, roughly 12″ in size. A small size also means smaller spending – which is always a good thing!

Shape matters

I love the oval and rectangle graze boards – they are beautiful! But for starting out, try a 12″ to 14″ round board. Rounds lend themselves to a natural symmetry and that means easy, beautiful assembly.

It’s in the details

I have a few standard additions to my grazing boards. I don’t use everything every time, but I like to have a few options on hand. Usually, I can make 3 boards out of 2 boxes of crackers and 3 small wedges of cheese :

fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies are an easy and obvious addition to any board (but carrots, celery and bell peppers are just as well loved)
1-2 small wedges of hard, semi-soft and soft cheese and
a variety of seedy, crisp, wafer thin various shaped crackers
savory or candied nuts
olives
dip

One special thing

Whether it’s a quick candied nut or a simple marinated olive salad, or a yummy dip — pick one thing that’s the star of your graze board. One thing that’s a little unique – but unique doesn’t mean difficult! And that’s exactly where this Everything Hummus recipe comes into the picture!

This recipe for Everything Hummus is so easy and unbelievably better than store bought. It will be the star of your graze board for sure!

Before I share the recipe, let me share a few hacks that make this hummus extra special and simple. First, used canned chickpeas. Don’t bother with cooking your own, it’s too much work. You can easily elevate canned chickpeas by draining, rinsing and boiling to soften. This removes the “canned” flavor and tenderizes the chickpeas (which ensures a creamy, smooth hummus).

Another important point about this recipe is it uses very few ingredients. Because of that, be sure that every ingredient is superior in quality. Use the good olive oil, purchase organic chickpeas and tahini paste – and use pink Himalayan sea salt. All those little details make a big difference in taste!

Last, taste all along the way. It’s easy to add more seasoning and salt but it’s impossible to undo over-salted and over-seasoned food. So take your time and taste at every stage.