Living under the influence of a little girl, the color pink has made its way onto my table. I never thought of my daughter as a pink kind of girl. She's the kind that jumps into a mud hole and has uncontrollable laughs when she's covered in dirt. She eats her whole carrot stick with a grip so hard, no one can pry it away from her even if your life depended on it. She enjoys wrestling her brother to the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs, and coming home with grass stains on each and every possible limb. Yet, she also loves to dress in pink and eat anything pink. Preferably a cloud fluffy full of cotton candy pink.
This is dedicated to my little girl. A variation to the basic hummus recipe that includes a veggie, the beetroot! Any extra veg I can get in a day makes me feel good. I have snuck this one into the hummus dip. No secret about it, the color itself screams out loud. It's an eye-popper and attention grabber that's perfect for parties. I like to have this for breakfast, lunch or a snack on a piece of whole grain bread with slices of avocado and black radish. So does Mila, but sans radis for now.
Beetroot Hummus Dip
PREPARATION
Soak the dried chickpeas overnight with a cover. Be sure to add more than enough water to cover the chickpeas because they swell up to almost double their size.
INGREDIENTS//yields 2.5 cups
• 1 cup dried chickpeas (yields about 3 cups cooked, 1 cup cooked=150 grams)
• 2.5 cloves garlic
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin
• 1.5 teaspoons sea salt (adjust accordingly to personal taste)
• 3.5 tablespoons tahini paste
• 1 small beetroot (boiled until soft), about 70 grams
• 1.5 lemon, juiced
• Olive oil, drizzle
INSTRUCTIONS
Drain and transfer your soaked chickpeas to a large cooking pot. Fill it up with water with about an inch or two to cover.
Bring it to a boil and then turn down the heat to a slow simmer for at least two hours. If you see some white foam during this time, just scoop it out. Taste check every 10 minutes afterwards to see if is firm enough on the outside and tender on the inside. Next drain and rinse them under cold water.
Optional: I have heard of people peeling skin off of each and every chickpea before adding it into the food processor. Apparently, the dip comes out smoother. I don't know. I never seem to have the time to do this.
Add all your ingredients into the food processor and turn it on. Use your spatula to swipe along the sides occasionally so that you get every bit of it to blend together for a smooth consistency. You can add water to the batch if it is too thick.
Top it off with a generous drizzle of olive oil.
NOTE
I am a garlic fan. I like my hummus and beetroot hummus with a sharp garlicky taste and a slight citrusy twang to it. If you want a milder recipe just use 2 cloves of garlic and the sweet flavor of the beetroot will come through. Add enough water as needed to achieve the consistency you like. I added nearly a half cup of water to this recipe.