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My kitchen habits are pretty predictable. You can almost bet I’ll be trying to cook up something new, delicious and blog worthy, every weekend. However, I didn’t get in the kitchen last weekend as we were on the last leg of our whirlwind 1,200 mile trip to Tennessee and back. Honestly I was happy to get out of the kitchen for a little while. This baker needed a break after a seriously intense baking season at our house.
When I opened the last bag of sugar and the butter was no more, I breathed a great big sigh of relief swearing I won’t make that many sweets, cookies and cakes ever again. But you know I’ll probably forget, people will start asking if I’m going to make fudge, cookies and toffee and once again I’ll get very strange looks from the checkout girl at the grocery store when my cart is full of sugar, butter, chocolate and other candy making tools. I adore gifting goodies to my friends and family, and to anybody that appreciates it. Get your orders in early next year!
It’s been a long two weeks since I last blogged but it feels like months. Our holidays were wonderful and delicious and now I’m looking forward to getting back to the basics. I’ve really missed all my blog friends and my readers (what I like to refer to as my imaginary and/or virtual friends.) I have a lot of commenting to catch up on so please forgive me for not visiting sooner!
Beets … natures candy. We love ’em. Roasted beets have shown up on our dinner table many, many times. We also love beets in salads and now we love them in hummus. It may look a little strange for hummus but you need to look past the intense shade of fuchsia. When I told my husband, who is a beet lover from way back, that I was making roasted beet hummus, he was very skeptical. His top lip curled up a bit and he made one of those winching faces, like something smelled bad. I told him he would love it – because he loves beets and hummus. Traveling husband has done a lot of traveling over the years and while in the Middle East he has eaten the real deal. Hummus is served at almost every meal and he enjoyed it frequently (i.e. consumed more than his share.)
So who would guess that he (Traveling husband) was shocked, astounded and amazed that it was delicious hummus. He loves it in spite of the funny color and said he was blown away with how fantastic it was. It may seem a little weird but it works. Beet hummus is not new to the blog world so I took the best of several recipes and cobbled together this winner.
To prepare the beets, give them a good scrub with a vegetable brush leaving about an inch of stems and the root intact. Rub each beet with a little olive oil and place them on a baking sheet lined with a double layer of aluminum foil.
Place two more pieces of foil on top and seal the edges to make a pouch. Bake the beets in a preheated 400 degree oven for about an hour. Carefully slice open the foil pouch to allow the beets to cool. Remove the stems and tails from the beets. Now they should be super easy to peel and leave you with a shinny smooth tender roasted root!
In the bowl of a food processor add the diced roasted beets, a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, cumin and olive oil.
Process until the hummus is smooth. Add more olive oil if needed to reach the consistency you prefer.
Garnish with chopped pistachios to add a little color and serve with pita chips, sliced vegetables or these wonderful homemade crispy salted Rosemary Flatbread Crackers (recipe coming later this week).
Roasted Beet Hummus
Course: Appetizer
Roasted beets turned into a yummy hummus.
Ingredients
- 3 large beets or 4 small, scrubbed, stems trimmed to 2 inch, tail left intact (rubbed with olive oil)
- 1 can 15 ounce chickpeas rinsed and drained
- Juice of a whole lemon
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more if needed to reach desired consistency
- Chopped pistachios for garnish
- Crackers sliced vegetables, or pita wedges for serving
- Feta cheese for serving with the hummus if desired
Instructions
- To prepare the hummus:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a double layer of aluminum foil. Place the cleaned and trimmed beets on the foil and drizzle with olive oil. Rub the oil over the entire beet and cover with a double layer of foil. Seal the beets in the foil pouch and bake for 60 minutes. Slice the foil package open and allow the beets to cool.
- When cool enough to handle remove the stems and root and peel the beets. Dice the beets in small pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Add additional olive oil if needed to reach desired consistency. Serve garnished with chopped pistachios and Feta cheese.
- Store leftover hummus in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- Recipe lightly adapted from The Year in Food
Nutrition
Calories: 736kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Monounsaturated Fat: 33g | Sodium: 2555mg | Potassium: 1171mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 296IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 168mg | Iron: 6mg
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The decorations are put away, the house is clean and we are back to work! How quickly the holidays fly by. No matter where you live I bet you’re having some of this cold weather. We missed the big snow here in Virginia but the ice is on it’s way. Stay safe and thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes
I took a little break from the kitchen too – I definitely felt burnt out on cooking and baking after the holidays!! Love the hummus recipe – thanks for sharing. I LOVE hummus!
Kitchen Belleicious
the color alone makes me happy but I love the flavor this is going to have
SavoringTime in the Kitchen
This is such a beautiful hummus! I love hummus and I love beets so it's a win-win for me.
Monica
I've still yet to cook beets at home…and that color is sure a big "wow"! It is a very nice thing to see among all this frigid cold and gray right now. Happy New Year!
Sue/the view from great island
I'm sharing this on fb today Tricia — right after I get finished pinning! It's really stunning.
Kari Lindsay
Love me a pretty, healthy and yummy snack and I love the preppy colors of fuschia and pistachio! This would be great to serve at a shower!
Angie Schneider
I made something similar, but with precooked beetroot and it was very tasty too. Yours has such a gorgeous purple red colour..irresistible!
Abbe@This is How I Cook
Glad you are back Tricia and that you had a happy holiday! I'd like some fudge and some toffee and whatever else you are cooking next year. Hope that's early enough! I've made a beet dip from the Jerusalem cookbook that is similar but still different from this. It is totally delectable and now I can't wait to give yours a try! Truthfully, I like it better than regular hummus!
Chris Scheuer
Welcome back Tricia! What a gorgeous hummus, perfect to brighten up a cold winter day. I've made lots of hummus but never thought of beet, what a brilliant idea!
Anna and Liz Recipes
Welcome back Tricia !! Lovely hummus, I would love to try this one. Thank you for the lovely comment… Xxoo Anna
Big Dude
It sure looks pretty but I hope you won't mind if I pass on this one 🙂
Tanna at The Brick Street Bungalow
Such a beautiful color!! 😉 And, I know it is DELICIOUS, too. Evan and I love beets… any way we can get them. We are "on restrictions" as of today… I am going to get my drools in vicariously for awhile. Hope you have a wonderful week, Tricial! blessings ~ tanna