Beet Hummus
Bears, BEET HUMMUS, Battlestar Galactica. Ok sorry I just needed to get that out of my system. Beet Hummus! I’m going to be totally honest with you, I, Ben, am not a huge fan of beets on their own. Chop them up into a salad with a little bit of goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette and I am all the way on board, but roasted and lonesome, it’s just not my thing (but I respect those of you that do love them au naturale). That being said, beets do have so much to offer. A rich natural sweetness, tons of earthy notes, and lets not forget the most insane (and staining) color in the game. This flavor profile brings an amazing twist to the traditional hummus we all know and love.
Check out the recipe below!
Ingredients
One 15oz Can of Chickpeas : or 15oz of rehydrated chickpeas
3 Small Beets : peeled and roasted
1 Clove Raw Garlic : coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon : for garnish
Roasted Sunflower Seeds : for garnish
1 Small Cucumber : thinly sliced for garnish
2 tbsp Tahini
1/4 tsp of Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
3/4 tsp Kosher Salt : or more to taste
Preparation:
Dice up the beets into small chunks (this will allow them to blend more easily)
Open the can of chickpeas, drain and rinse in a colander
Add the chickpeas, beets, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, coriander, rosemary, olive oil, and salt to a food processor and blend until totally smooth
Taste the hummus and adjust if needed (possibly more lemon juice or salt depending on your preference)
Transfer the hummus to a large bowl (preferably a shallow, wide bowl) and garnish liberally with the lemon zest and sunflower seeds. Use the cucumbers as little chips, or as a crisp vegetal garnish with pita or chips/crackers
Enjoy!
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see lemons in their own plastic containers/bags or garlic in nylon mesh bags. These are all very often available sans any container, so take the opportunity to use your hands, smell the produce, build that relationship with your ingredients! That being said, the spices for example, might be difficult to avoid without packaging. Additionally, chickpeas can sometimes be bought in bulk, and depending on where you are (and when you’re reading this) canned or packaged beets might be the only ones you can find. Pick your battles and fight them well!
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Things like garlic, dried/canned beans, spices, and oils will all last a while, so with those if you buy a bit more than you needed, you’ll have plenty of time to use them in the future. But with any fresh cucumbers and the lemons, those will go bad fairly quickly so buy with care!
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time. If you’re unfamiliar with tahini, this is an incredible ingredient that I consider cheat-codes to flavor and complexity, so buying it would be amazing additions to your pantry!
We have noted that dried chickpeas may be used for this recipe for a number of reasons. The most important are that they can be bought in bulk, often reduce significant amount of packaging materials, can be stored for very long periods of time, and are often much cheaper!
Beets are a long-lasting root vegetable that can often be found in the cooler months, making it seasonal right now!
Did you try this recipe? Tag @groundedgrub on instagram or facebook and hashtag it #groundedgrub!