Honey Roasted Garlic Hummus

Remember the great smooth hummus experiment I have embarked on? In the first experiment I peeled the garbanzo beans before making my Traditional Hummus recipe. It really did make a difference in the texture, much more smooth. This weekend in experiment number two, I cooked the canned garbanzo beans. Now, I read that some people cook the beans for 1 to 2 hours. I thought that was a little excessive, besides believe it or not I don't think I have the patience for that. Ask anyone, I have a lot of patience. Maybe just not the patience for hummus? I decided to cook them for the amount of time it would take to roast garlic to add to the hummus. Cooking the beans did soften them quite a bit. I still saw a skin or two floating around looking to make trouble. But the end result is that the hummus is quite smooth. It looks grainy but the texture is really smooth. I would use this method again for hummus flavors that required roasting the other ingredients. For example, this would be great for my Spicy Tomato and Olive Oil Hummus.

Now let's talk about flavor. This hummus recipe is for all of you who love garlic's sweet side. You know how when garlic is perfectly caramelized it is sweet and no longer pungent. You might think that a whole head of garlic is too much. Not when it is roasted. It is just wonderful. In this case, the honey helps to caramelize the garlic. This flavor combo is really well balanced. It does not taste like just honey or just garlic. This hummus has a smooth sweet hint of garlic. I garnished with a drizzle of honey and a roasted garlic clove or two. I loved the carrots with this hummus. For some reason the carrots brought out the sweet garlic flavor the most. I like it when experiments are delicious.

Honey Roasted Garlic Hummus
Makes about 2 cups, Serves 16 (2 Tbsp. serving)

Ingredients

1 head garlic
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. olive oil
1 can garbanzo beans (drained, reserving liquid) 
3 Tbsp. tahini
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 tsp. kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Drain the garbanzo beans reserving the liquid. Place beans in a pot and cover with water, about an inch more than the surface of the beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once beans begin to boil lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cut the top 1/2 inch off the head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Set the garlic in the center of a square of heavy aluminum foil. Pour 1 teaspoon of the honey and 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over the garlic, season with salt, replace the top, and fold up the sides of the foil to make a package, crimping the top tight. Bake until very tender and golden, 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When garlic is cool enough to handle, carefully pop out the garlic cloves by pushing up from the bottom. Reserve one clove for a garnish (optional).

Remove beans from the heat and drain. In the bowl of a food processor, add garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, roasted garlic, salt, remaining honey and olive oil. Blend until smooth, drizzling in a 1/3 cup of the liquid from the can. Add more liquid depending on how thick you like it. 

To serve: Place 2 Tbsp. on a plate or in a ramekin. Drizzle with honey or olive oil. Garnish with the reserved roasted garlic clove (optional). Serve with veggies or pita for dipping.

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