Moroccan Spiced Hummus with Honey

Hoppin’ John and collard greens. Chinese food or fondue. Seafood and legumes. A glass of champagne. What do these have in common? They are foods you’d be very likely to see Americans enjoying on New Year’s Eve. Some are steeped in tradition and full of symbolism. Others have simply evolved as popular dishes for Americans staying in on December 31st. While there certainly are no rules, many people make these foods part of their ritual for ringing in the New Year. And so far, we’re only talking about New Year with respect to the Gregorian calendar. There are others, like the Chinese calendar and the Jewish calendar, for which the end of one year and the beginning of the next does not coincide with the typical secular celebration, and which have their own unique traditions.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, always occurs in early fall. One of the traditions that makes this holiday different from others in the Jewish calendar is eating honey. We eat honey, drizzled on apples or challah or baked into vegetables and desserts, to celebrate a our desire for a sweet New Year. With this in mind, I wanted to incorporate honey into something to nosh on before the big meal.

This hummus, swirled with honey and sprinkled with Moroccan spices, is sweet and warm and a total delight as a dip for crisp, fresh Autumn apples. But it doesn’t stop there. It’s a welcome surprise in place of regular hummus with pita or your favorite fresh veggies. And it’s especially delicious when spread on a grilled chicken or turkey sandwich or wrap. However you enjoy it, it’s a  sweet reminder that we are fortunate to be blessed with another great year.

Moroccan Spiced Hummus with Honey
Adapted from Honey.com

2 cans (15oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, for garnish

Combine all ingredients except for cilantro or parsley in a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Like all hummus, this can be stored in the refrigerator. However, this is best served at room temperature so make sure to take it out a little while before serving.

For this batch of hummus, I incorporated Goya chickpeas that were sampled to me through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. I’m a big fan of Goya for their consistently superior quality and great value. At any given time, you are guaranteed to find Goya in my pantry!

I am sharing this for the October 1st edition of Wholesome Whole Foods, hosted by HealthFood Lover.
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28 Responses to “Moroccan Spiced Hummus with Honey”

  1. 1

    Tasha — September 27, 2010 @ 2:13 pm Reply

    I love the idea of all of these additional flavors in a hummus. I always just go the classic route when making it, but this sounds like a delicious way to venture out.

  2. 2

    roxan — September 27, 2010 @ 2:38 pm Reply

    Great hummus… One of the things I love about hummus is that you can put whatever you want in it, it's so versatile. But I never thought of putting anything sweet in it – ingenious!

  3. 3

    Shannon — September 27, 2010 @ 3:22 pm Reply

    ooh, i bet honey is a fantastic addition!!ps- you should check out my latest entry 😉

  4. 4

    Joanne — September 27, 2010 @ 5:32 pm Reply

    I have to say, I tried to make a sweet hummus the other day and it totally crashed and burned. Big time. Which basically means I have to try again with this recipe because it sounds amazing!

  5. 5

    Dawn — September 27, 2010 @ 7:02 pm Reply

    Love the sweet twist! I have done that for Gabby with her sweet potato hummus (have to leave out the tahini though…boo).

  6. 6

    Chelsey — September 27, 2010 @ 11:33 pm Reply

    Yay a new hummus! My sister moved to Isreal (her husband is Israeli) and she had to go to Hebrew school. One of the exercises was to draw pictures symbolizing Jewish new-year. Of course not being Jewish she had no clue as to what that was so she made it up and handed her drawing to her teacher…Bewildered, her teacher was like 'what is this?'. My sister looked at her and said 'I don't know how it is celebrated'. So her Teacher told her it was symbolized with 'honey and apples'. Ok then honey and apples is how she came to know Rosh Hashanah.

  7. 7

    Bridget — September 28, 2010 @ 12:15 am Reply

    What a creative hummus! Sounds delicious with the honey! I didnt know that about honey and the Jewish new year…learn something new every day ;)Hope you had a great holiday!!

  8. 8

    Barbara — September 28, 2010 @ 12:01 pm Reply

    Love the color, Cara. Would never have thought to add honey, but this sounds fabulous! The cinnamon is unusual too.l

  9. 9

    marla {Family Fresh Cooking} — September 30, 2010 @ 11:41 am Reply

    I have never had hummus with a smattering of honey. Sounds wonderful. The spices you have in this hummus sounds great too. Love the suggestion to use apples as a dipper-gotta try this out on my kids 🙂

  10. 10

    Susan — October 8, 2010 @ 1:49 am Reply

    My favorite part of this post is how you tied almost every ingredient to its roots.

  11. 11

    Susan — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    My favorite part of this post is how you tied almost every ingredient to its roots.

  12. 12

    marla {Family Fresh Cooking} — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    I have never had hummus with a smattering of honey. Sounds wonderful. The spices you have in this hummus sounds great too. Love the suggestion to use apples as a dipper-gotta try this out on my kids 🙂

  13. 13

    Barbara — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    Love the color, Cara. Would never have thought to add honey, but this sounds fabulous! The cinnamon is unusual too.l

  14. 14

    Bridget — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    What a creative hummus! Sounds delicious with the honey! I didnt know that about honey and the Jewish new year…learn something new every day ;)Hope you had a great holiday!!

  15. 15

    Bridget — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    What a creative hummus! Sounds delicious with the honey! I didnt know that about honey and the Jewish new year…learn something new every day ;)Hope you had a great holiday!!

  16. 16

    Joanne — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    I have to say, I tried to make a sweet hummus the other day and it totally crashed and burned. Big time. Which basically means I have to try again with this recipe because it sounds amazing!

  17. 17

    Shannon — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    ooh, i bet honey is a fantastic addition!!ps- you should check out my latest entry 😉

  18. 18

    roxan — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    Great hummus… One of the things I love about hummus is that you can put whatever you want in it, it's so versatile. But I never thought of putting anything sweet in it – ingenious!

  19. 19

    Tasha — March 28, 2011 @ 8:36 pm Reply

    I love the idea of all of these additional flavors in a hummus. I always just go the classic route when making it, but this sounds like a delicious way to venture out.

  20. 20

    Chelsey — March 28, 2011 @ 8:37 pm Reply

    Yay a new hummus! My sister moved to Isreal (her husband is Israeli) and she had to go to Hebrew school. One of the exercises was to draw pictures symbolizing Jewish new-year. Of course not being Jewish she had no clue as to what that was so she made it up and handed her drawing to her teacher…Bewildered, her teacher was like 'what is this?'. My sister looked at her and said 'I don't know how it is celebrated'. So her Teacher told her it was symbolized with 'honey and apples'. Ok then honey and apples is how she came to know Rosh Hashanah.

  21. 21

    Dawn — March 28, 2011 @ 8:37 pm Reply

    Love the sweet twist! I have done that for Gabby with her sweet potato hummus (have to leave out the tahini though…boo).

  22. 22

    marla {Family Fresh Cooking} — March 29, 2011 @ 2:04 am Reply

    I have never had hummus with a smattering of honey. Sounds wonderful. The spices you have in this hummus sounds great too. Love the suggestion to use apples as a dipper-gotta try this out on my kids 🙂

  23. 23

    Chelsey — March 29, 2011 @ 2:04 am Reply

    Yay a new hummus! My sister moved to Isreal (her husband is Israeli) and she had to go to Hebrew school. One of the exercises was to draw pictures symbolizing Jewish new-year. Of course not being Jewish she had no clue as to what that was so she made it up and handed her drawing to her teacher…Bewildered, her teacher was like 'what is this?'. My sister looked at her and said 'I don't know how it is celebrated'. So her Teacher told her it was symbolized with 'honey and apples'. Ok then honey and apples is how she came to know Rosh Hashanah.

  24. 24

    Tasha — March 29, 2011 @ 2:04 am Reply

    I love the idea of all of these additional flavors in a hummus. I always just go the classic route when making it, but this sounds like a delicious way to venture out.

  25. 25

    Chelsey — April 5, 2011 @ 1:13 am Reply

    Yay a new hummus! My sister moved to Isreal (her husband is Israeli) and she had to go to Hebrew school. One of the exercises was to draw pictures symbolizing Jewish new-year. Of course not being Jewish she had no clue as to what that was so she made it up and handed her drawing to her teacher…Bewildered, her teacher was like 'what is this?'. My sister looked at her and said 'I don't know how it is celebrated'. So her Teacher told her it was symbolized with 'honey and apples'. Ok then honey and apples is how she came to know Rosh Hashanah.

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