Beet root Hummus

Beet root Hummus

I often play with my favourite vegetable.. beet root. It has amazing health benefits and the versatility makes me create wonders. Till now I already posted beet root patties, beet root rice, etc. Today I would love to share my the recipe of my all time favourite dip.. beet root hummus. It’s finger licking good.

INGREDIENTS
* 3 cups cooked chickpeas (approx. 1½ cups dry), peeled
* 250 g / ½ lb beetroot
* 2 large garlic cloves
* 90 ml / ¼ cup + 2 tbsp quality tahini (I used hulled)
* 1¼ tsp salt, more to taste
* 1 tsp cumin (optional)
* about 180 ml / ¾ cup fridge-cold aquafaba*
* 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 cold aquafaba 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 aquafaba (or cold water) through the opening in the lid. Once the mixture becomes homogeneous and thick and your average blender starts to struggle (if you have a Vitamix or a similar hi-tech blender you probably will not need to worry about this) start making circles on the surface of your hummus mixture (in the direction of the turning blades) with a spatula (don’t dip the spatula in too deep as you don’t want to accidentally touch the turning blades). This simple action will prevent air pockets forming under the mixture’s surface, helping your blender process the heavy mixture.
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.