Hummus was never a conversation piece growing up. I remember it being at every table in Beirut – for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midafternoon snacks. Usually served in a brown clay bowl, drizzled with olive oil, cumin, some whole chickpea garnish, and parsley. I often make hummus at home. Honestly, it was out of pure laziness that I would buy it at stores. Over the years, it has been fun adding other ingredients. In this case, I wanted to incorporate sun-dried tomatoes while still enjoying the pure essence of hummus. Serving both the sun-dried tomatoes and hummus on the same plate allows one to scoop both together.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of chickpeas (one with liquid, one without)
• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
• 6 tablespoons tahini
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cumin Garnish:
• 4-ounce jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• ¼ cup dry-roasted pumpkin seeds
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Aleppo pepper
• Cumin

Instructions:

1. In a blender, add chickpeas, mashed garlic, tahini, salt, cumin, lemon juice, and the juice of the first can. Blend the mixture. Add one ice cube while blending; if the mixture is too thick, add another ice cube until desired creaminess is achieved.
2. Transfer the hummus to a large flat platter and spread it into a round circle.
3. Wash the blender and add the sun-dried tomatoes with their oil. Blend the tomatoes and place the mixture in the center of the hummus or as desired for garnishing.
4. Toast the pumpkin seeds and distribute them around the sun-dried tomatoes. If you choose to replicate the sunflower design in this recipe, use the back of a clean spoon to make indented lines on the hummus, creating a sunflower-like appearance.
5. Sprinkle with cumin, Aleppo pepper, and a generous amount of olive oil.