Friday, January 29, 2016

Beet Hummus

Last week, I shared my easy garlic lemon hummus recipe. As promised, here is another super easy hummus recipe with a few shortcuts.

Like last week, I’m using canned chickpeas. And I also use pre-cooked beets. I love beets and often buy them fresh at the farmers’ market and roast them. However, they can be a bit messy as the red color tends to go everywhere (and doesn’t come out that easily in the wash…). I’m therefore reaching more and more often to golden (yellow) beets at the farmers’ market when they are available. But they don’t have the beautiful, intense red color of course. And when I’m in a rush, nothing beats already cooked beets!

BeetHummus1

Beet Hummus
Ingredients
  • 1 can organic chickpeas, very well rinsed
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 package cooked beets with liquid 
  • 2 - 4 T olive oil 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper
  • 1 - 4 T water (add 1 T first and then add more if the hummus is too thick)
Instructions
  • Process the beets in a food processor. Once they are pureed, add the other ingredients and process until smooth, adding more water and/or oil as necessary.
BeetHummus2

I have gotten a few questions about the texture of my hummus. It is a bit more coarse than commercial hummus. One of the reasons is that I use a cheap, mini food processor to make my hummus; the Vitamix would produce a smoother product. Another reason is that I do not peel the chickpeas. If you want really smooth hummus, you can peel the outer skin off the chickpeas (it comes off easily, but it’s time consuming.) I actually enjoy the more rustic texture, so I never peel my chickpeas. 

Questions: Do you like beets? If so, what’s your favorite way to eat them? 

Be Well,
Andrea