This fresh and bright hummus dip has been a crowd hit at each occasion that I have served it, but I can’t take the credit for the recipe. This post is dedicated to my oh so fabulous cousin, Nicole Z., who runs an amazing interior design firm, Triangle Interiors, balances two kids, a husband and dog (and still looks perfecto like.all.the.time). I first enjoyed this hummus appetizer paired with a crispy glass of Sauv B. when I was over at Nicole’s a few years ago. My mom and I arrived at 2pm-ish to begin combing the wedding mags, and what started out an afternoon of delightful hummus bites and wine sips over wedding planning for her sister, Courtney, ended up a verrry late night of eating thin crust pizza and solving the world’s problems. Maybe it was something in the hummus? — but I highly doubt it.

Photo Details: The garden herb hummus dip pictured above is from a recent dinner party that I hosted… it was demolished in about 10 minutes. Looking at it just makes me want to sit out on a terrace with a glass of cold vino – don’t you think?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large container of plain old original hummus (or 2 depending on how large your serving platter or plate is)
• 1 bunch basil
• 1 bunch green onion
• 1 container cherry tomatoes
• 2 large avocados
• 2 lemons
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt
• pita chips, crackers or crudites

PREP

• spread the hummus, about a 1/2 inch thick over your plate or platter
• dice the cherry tomatoes in half and begin to make a little pattern around the edge of the platter, 1/4 a few remaining tomatoes and place in the center of the dip
• rinse and pat dry the basil and put one leaf in between each tomato, take a few more leaves… roll them up, and slice to make little springs to sprinkle all around
• dice the green onion and scatter
• cut the avocado into tiny pieces and arrange in the open pockets that aren’t covered yet
• juice the lemons and drizzle all over
• add a tiny, tiny bit of olive oil over it
• top the dip off with cracked pepper and sea salt — and serve with your crackers (this is great with sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, and celery)