VEGAN BEET HUMMUS
Easy, gluten-free and healthy
I Come back from my summer holiday and open the fridge to see red beets in my fridge....hmm what should I make?? Hummus duhhh!!
Funnily enough, one of my blog readers DM me just a few days ago saying she’d tried the very same dish, and asking how one might replicate it at home. I thought to myself one might simply roast the beets and then blend them in in the food processor, and as it turns out, that’s about right. This hummus looks a little “grainier” than regular hummus in the photo, but it’s as creamy as can be.
It’s so easy to make, beautiful to look at and packs a nutritious punch too. I made mine in a very, very awesome kitchen-aid blender and it comes out silky smooth without any need for oil.
I’m not a huge beet fan so I was a bit skeptical when I made this dip. I often question my cooking. Maybe I’m just not that bright? This dip is, though. I mean look at that color.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the beets do not overpower the other flavors and this vegan beet hummus actually tastes sooo good. If you love beets I am sure you will totally love this neon dip. It just can’t “be beet”. HA HA am so funny
INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups chickpeas
• 250g beetroot
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1/4 Cup tahini
• 1¼ tsp salt, more to taste
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• about 180 ml / ¾ cup fridge-cold water
• 4-5 tbsp lemon juice
• fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)
• black and white sesame seeds, to garnish (optional)
• extra virgin olive oil, to garnish (optional)
METHOD
1 To cook your beetroots, you could bake, steam or boil them. I baked mine. To bake your beetroots, heat up the oven to 200° C / 390° F. Place washed beetroots in the middle of a large piece of kitchen foil. Holding the edges of the foil up with one hand, drizzle a bit of water to the bottom of the parcel so that the beetroots cook in their own steam. Scrunch the edges of the foil above the beetroots to create a parcel. Bake until you can easily pierce each beetroot with a knife (about 60 min, depending on the beetroot’s size). Once the beetroots are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off.
2 Pour water and lemon juice to the bottom of the blender (or a food processor, but blender will give you a smoother hummus) with all the tahini, roughly sliced beetroots and chickpeas.
3 Process until smooth. If the mixture is a bit too thick, trickle more water through the opening in the lid. Once the mixture becomes homogeneous and thick, stop.
4 Finally, season the mixture with salt, cumin, garlic and extra lemon juice if you like.
5 To serve, put hummus in a bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (if you don’t care about it being oil-free), sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped parsley on top.
Serve this as you would any hummus: with crackers, with veggies, on salad, in a wrap or sandwich. Or with a spoon, of course. Enjoy!
