Beets are one of my favorite vegetables. They are sweet, colorful, and tasty. Usually, I’m perfectly happy roasting them and eating them warm out of the oven or cool over salads. But this time, I wanted to try something different. You know, variety is the spice of life and all. I’ve been thinking of borscht, and I’ve even bugged two of my friends for recipes, but I’m intimidated to make a stew I’ve never even eaten before. One day I’m going to make it, but I’m not ready yet.
Then, when I found a recipe for this beet dip I was really excited. I think dip is wonderful because it’s a great excuse to eat crackers, bread, and cheese. Most importantly, this dip is easy to make and it is pretty. This recipe is just like hummus, only instead of chickpeas it has beets. I was excited for some new twists on old favorites. I served it when my friend Emily and her boyfriend Matt came over and it went over really well. It has the nice, sweet, earthy flavor of beets and the lemon juice gives it a nice bright, citrus flavor. It went even faster than the regular hummus!
Adapted from Food 52.
Ingredients
1 pound beets (about 2 large ones)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp tahini
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions
1. Heat the oven to 400°.
2. Scrub the beets clean, cut off the ends of beets. Wrap the beets in a foil packet. Roast for 50-60 minutes. Beets are done when you can easily stick a fork through it.
3. Take the beets out of the oven. Let cool enough so you can touch them. Use a paper towel (to keep your hands from getting red) and rub off the skin from the beets. Cut the beets into quarters.
4. If you didn’t buy toasted walnuts, heat a skillet over medium heat. Once it is hot, put the walnuts in dry. Stir occasionally. Heat until they smell toasty, about 2-5 minutes.
5. In a food processor, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Scrape down the sides as necessary.
6. Taste it, adjust seasonings as desired.
7. Serve with vegetables and crackers. I like it with goat cheese and a pita chip.
Messy level: This one is tough to rate because usually making something in a food processor is a 1-2 spoon. But, it’s beets. No matter how hard I try, I dye my fingers and I also worry about dying everything else. I’m giving at a 3 spoon, mostly as a warning to you, your floors, and your couch.
