Beet Hummus

A strange combination at first glance, but the pairing of roasted beets and the classic hummus ingredients is flawless. Plus, the vibrant purple colour puts regular chickpea hummus to shame. I’ve made this recipe many times before and recently shared it with a close friend. She was a bit skeptical at first but it was love at first bite. The chickpeas provide protein, the beets colour and fibre, the garlic is a necessity and the lemon zest gives an added freshness. It’s great as a dip for veggies and pita bread, and can be used in sandwiches and wraps as a substitute to typical condiments. The recipe calls for minimal ingredients and doesn’t require much work to make. It can easily be altered to your taste preferences but tweaking the amounts of each ingredient.

The most recent, but wonderful, combination is toasted pita bread with beet hummus, sliced avocado and a little bit of Tabasco sauce. The Tabasco adds a nice, smoky kick to the hummus; it’s good just having pita and hummus with Tabasco without the avocado too. It’s perfect for after a tough workout at training camp this week.

Beet Hummus
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 mnutes
Yield: ~2 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized beets, (scrubbed, peeled and cubed)
• 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic (or more)!
• 1 540ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tbsp. tahini sesame paste
• 2 tbsp. ground cumin
• 5 tbsp. lemon juice
• zest of 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt or Kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Peel and cube the beets and place in a roasting dish with the shallot and garlic cloves. Fill the dish with about 1/4 inch of water and place in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until fork tender. Let cool. While the beets are roasting, add the remaining ingredients into a food processor or blender. Once the beets are cooled, drain off the excess water and place the beets, garlic and onion into the food processor as well. Pulse until smooth. Refrigerate for 3-4 days or freeze for longer storage. Enjoy with raw veggies, sandwiches, and pita chips (with avocado and Tabasco!).