Tag Archives: beetroot

Beetroot and Feta Dip

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I like to do veggie packed snacks for pre-dinner drinks or quick lunches. I have been making beetroot hummus for a while now so when I was deciding what to do with my latest bunch of roasted beetroot I decided to do something different. A pack of feta unused in the fridge and memory of beetroot and feta burgers from a food styling session was the trigger I needed. This is so simple it’s really a kitchen sketch than a proper recipe. The variations could be endless too. I used chioggia beetroot that is home grown at Secretts in Milford, which is why it has a delicate pink hue but any beetroot would work. Although these candy stripe beetroot are gorgeous looking raw you lose the stripe when they are cooked but the flavour is sweet. Roasted beets are superior as they are not as watery as boiled so give a more robust texture to the finished dip. The beetroots can be roasted the day before.

Ingredients

I large bunch of Chioggia beetroot, scrubbed
1 x 200g pack of feta, reserve 50g for the garnish
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 dessertspoons of natural yogurt
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, remove the leaves and discard the stems
Freshly ground black pepper
To garnish
The reserved feta cheese crumbled or finely cubed
A drizzle of rapeseed oil
Some fresh herbs (I used blackcurrant sage flowers)
Pre-heat the oven to Gas 5/ 200°C /Fan 180°C

Place the beetroot in a roasting tin and cover with foil. Roast until tender approximately 40mins to 1hr. Leave to cool in the tin. Remove the skins they should just slide off with the help of a sharp knife.

Chop the beetroot roughly and place in a food processor with the feta, lemon juice and 2 spoons of yogurt. Process until smooth and add more yogurt if the mixture is too thick. Add the herbs and pepper and blitz just to combine. Test the seasoning you shouldn’t need salt as the feta should be enough. But suit your own taste here.

Using a silicone spatula, heap the dip into a serving dish and make a swirly pattern on the top with a metal spoon. Place the reserved feta in the centre and then garnish with herbs and finish with a drizzle of rapeseed oil. Serve with crudités, warm pitta or bread sticks.

 

Pop up Café Beetroot Hummus Recipe

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Beetroot hummus with smoked oil and roast spices

I found this lovely recipe in the Guardian food section ‘Cook’, edited by Felicity Cloake.  It’s an unusual take on a dip we love: beetroot gives this version an intense, irresistible, deep-pink hue. Use freshly cooked or roasted beetroot – pre-packs give a watery finish. The original recipe suggests that you peel the chickpeas but buy a good-quality brand so you don’t need to. A food processor or blender gives the best result. We have also used a locally grown and pressed smoked rapeseed oil which adds an additional flavour layer.

Ingredientsbeetroot_hummus_6x9

250g cooked, peeled beetroot, roughly chopped
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained
75ml tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp roasted ground coriander
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 tbsp smoked rapeseed oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the beetroot in the food processor with the drained chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, coriander and crushed garlic. Process until the mixture is smooth enough for you.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a heavy frying pan and fry the sesame and cumin seeds, stirring continuously, for no more than 2 minutes, making sure they don’t catch. Add about two-thirds of this to the food processor, along with some seasoning, and blend.

Place the hummus in a serving dish and make a swirl in the centre. Spoon over the toasted seed-and-spice mix and serve with crudités.

We served this with our Taste of Surrey Platters with beetroot that was grown locally by James and Catherine Dampier and their team at Village Greens. They have two farm shops in Surrey where they sell produce from local producers and from their own land. We used them for all the fresh produce for our event plus tomatoes from Nutbourne.

Beetroot hummus recipe

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