A twist on a classic — Roasted Beet Hummus is creamy, healthy, and has a gorgeous pink hue.
Guess what I woke up to this morning?
Sunshine! Normally I am out of the house before it becomes completely bright outside but today I decided to sleep in a bit. Wow…what a difference an extra half hour makes. The sun was streaming into the bedroom through the window and it just made waking up so pleasant (despite the light snow).
That said, this hummus I have for you today will definitely add some brightness and color to your table.
Few Fridays ago, James and I had dinner at one of our favorite wine bars, Kashaval. It is a cute little place that serves amazing cheese fondue (we had the truffle Gruyere fondue last time but I highly recommend the namesake Bulgarian Kashkaval fondue) and Mediterranean tapas. On our platter, we’ve got stuffed grape leaves, walnut roasted pepper spread, balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts, hummus, and beet skordalia.
Skordalia is a puree of potatoes, garlic, nuts, lemon juice, olive oil, and, in this case, roasted beets. Well, it got me thinking, instead of potatoes, I can use chickpeas and turn it into a beet hummus…
There goes my inspiration!
Roasted beets (see roasting instructions here) combined with protein-rich chickpeas, garlic, sesame tahini, and olive oil make one tasty dip — a new and healthy twist on a classic. Serve it at room temperature and scoop up the creamy dip with warm pita or vegetables if you like. Roasted Beet Hummus delivers plenty of nutrients in each bite, and is feel good food, for sure.
Just look at that color!
In other news, I have been reading “It Starts with Food” after having heard about the Whole30 Program. As per the book, you basically follow a gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, soy-free, alcohol-free regiment for 30 days so as to “reset” your body from foods that may not agree with you. By eliminating most of the usual suspects of inflammation and food intolerance, and then slowly reintroducing them at the end of the program, you can find out if something really doesn’t agree with you. I want to try this program to see if I could troubleshoot my skin rashes (beer is a culprit from what I can tell), but that also means that I must give up my favorite morning oats and yogurt bowl! For 30 DAYS!?
Have you tried it? If so, were you able to complete the entire program or did you try a shortened version?
- 1 medium roasted beet, peeled and diced
- 1 15-oz can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp tahini*
- 2 tbsps lemon juice
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add more olive oil or water if the consistency is too thick.
- Serve at room temperature with toasted pita or vegetables.
LEAVE A COMMENT