When you’re at a party, where do you find yourself? Are you grooving near the speakers? In a corner petting a random puppy? Or are you planted firmly near the food table? I’d say I’m a hearty combination of the first two types of people until I see the host carry out a grazing platter and then honestly all bets are off.

What’s on my board?

I feel like the key to serving a successful grazing platter is offering a little bit of all taste points: sweet, savory, salty, sour, umami, and making sure they’re in handy bite size pieces. Those flavors can come in the form of fresh fruits and veggies, dips, and dippers. For my mezze board I have the following:

• Turmeric Hummus, topped with good olive oil and spices, vegan feta, pine nuts, and olives (recipe below)

• Greek Dill and Spring Onion Dipping sauce (get the recipe here)

• celery sticks

• yellow bell pepper slices

• Sunshine grape tomato medley

• Greek olives (marinated in bay leaves, oregano, and olive oil)

• cucumber slices

• grapes

• lemons

• dried figs

• pistachios

• almonds

• 8 grain crackers

For this mezze platter, I went with a semi-Greek theme, so other fun swaps to offer your guests could include pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, a small bowl of vegan feta, fresh figs, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, baba ghanoush, and pita. Just remember, there really isn’t a wrong way to make a grazing board though, just load up as many goodies as seems appropriate for the number of guests you have coming over, and you’ll be good to go. I usually go for two types of dip at least, two types of nuts, a cracker or pita, and equal halves fruit and veggies to fill the remaining gaps. I always chop extra and keep more fresh veggies in a glass container in my fridge so I can continue to refill the board throughout the night.

In my humble opinion, the turmeric hummus is the star of this show. Keep reading for the hummus recipe and other ways to use it.

Applications:

Obviously hummus is the ultimate party pleaser. It’s straight stunning on this grazing board, and with some fun pretzels at your soiree, but hummus is actually one of the most versatile protein sources, which is why I make far too much of it at a time and put it on everything I possibly can.

Turmeric hummus is especially delicious on savory morning toasts. I served it with homemade potato bread, pomegranate seeds, feta, and a drizzle of agave, pictured here. I also love to add a few scoops to salads for weekly meal prepping, and even use it as the base to many pasta sauces.

My favorite salad recipes with hummus are listed here in case you need any inspiration:

• spinach, cherry tomatoes, fresh peas (or use frozen – they’ll thaw, no need to cook), chopped red onion, kalamata olives, cucumbers, hummus, and balsamic glaze + olive oil

• massaged or toasted kale, diced and roasted sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, raw chopped red peppers, almonds, scoop of hummus, olive oil, and salt and pepper

• kale or arugula, roasted beets, fresh apples, pecans, cranberries, golden raisins, hummus, and vegan feta with oil and vinegar

• spinach, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, roasted broccoli, fresh onions, hummus, oil and vinegar.

Method:

If making chickpeas in a slow cooker or pressure cooker, or on stove top, you can follow the directions outlined here if you need some extra guidance. If you’re going for the canned variety, simply strain the can, adding the chickpeas to your blender or food processor, and hold back the liquid in a measuring cup. Add 1/3 cup of the canned liquid to the food processor, and as you blend it, you can add a little more if it seems too thick or chunky. You can also add a smidge of olive oil into the blend if you prefer. Mix in tahini, spices, pine nuts, and lemon juice, then blend. PS – if you’re looking for some seriously glorious stone ground, single source tahini – check out Seeds of Collaboration. They’re a small vegan and kosher business working to provide a partnership between Israel and Palestine through non-profit work with MIT, and their tahini is outrageously delicious.

Garnish with fresh parsley and rosemary, pine nuts, marinated, chopped olives, vegan feta, salt and pepper, and a thick drizzle olive oil. This hummus would also be amazing topped with pomegranate seeds and fresh thyme if you’re looking for other ways to dress it up.

Substitutions:

• For this hummus I’ used pine nuts, but I’ve found that cashews are way cheaper, and just as creamy. If you have cashews on hand more readily, you can sub them in a 1:1 ratio.

• Instead of garlic powder, you can add in roasted garlic cloves for a deeper flavor. If you’re doing a sheet pan of roasted veggies, you can add in a handful of garlic cloves, mist with olive oil, and cook at 375° for about 20 minutes. The rest of your veggies will take longer, so be sure to remove the garlic earlier so it doesn’t burn.

• For herbs, I used rosemary and thyme, but you can swap basil or oregano too if you prefer. You can also use a teaspoon of smoked paprika for some extra flavor.

• To change up your hummus game, you can also add in roasted veggies like red peppers, sweet potatoes, and beets. For roasted red pepper hummus, you can roast a red pepper the traditional way or char on the stove top. First, you can cut in half, take the seeds out, and pop onto that sheet pan with your garlic cloves and roast for about 30 minutes at 375° until soft. You can alternatively just put the whole pepper on your stove top burner in the flames until the outside starts to blister and turn black with char. Once it’s softened up a bit, remove from heat, and scoop the stem and seeds out with a knife. Add to your hummus, and reduce the amount of canning liquid since the moisture of the pepper will make your hummus less viscous.