Beetroot Houmous
Amelia Freer shares her delicious beetroot houmous recipe from her cookbook Nourish & Glow: The 10-Day Plan. This healthy houmous is delicious alongside crunchy fresh vegetables.
Introduction
I absolutely love houmous! It’s a delicious way to get extra fibre, plant protein, healthy fats and calcium (especially from the tahini) into my diet, plus I never get bored with it as there are so many different flavour possibilities.
This recipe makes a very generous amount, but it freezes well and works out much more economical than buying it at the supermarket.
If you following the meal plan, it’s a good idea to roast all the beetroot you’ll need for the next few days at the same time, in which case you will need 2-3 medium raw beetroot, then just follow the recipe as below to roast them together. You will use these extra beetroot to make a delicious soup later in the week. If you are strapped for time, however, you can use pre-cooked ones from the supermarket instead.
Ingredients
| 1 medium | raw beetroot (about 200g) (2-3 medium beetroot if you are following the meal plan) |
| 10g | chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried dill |
| 1 | clove of garlic |
| 1 x 400g | of chickpeas, drained and rinsed |
| 3 tbsp | tahini |
| 1/2 tsp | salt |
| 1 | lemon, juice and zest |
Essential kit
You will need: a food processor.
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3
Wrap the whole beet individually in small squares of foil lined with baking parchment and place on a tray in the oven for 60-90 minutes (the baking time will vary depending on the size of the beetroot), or until a sharp knife slips easily into the centre. I usually do this when I have something else in the oven.
When cool enough to handle, use kitchen paper to slip the skin off the beets (see tip below). Place one peeled beetroot in the food processor along with any juices in the foil and the dill. Add all the other houmous ingredients. Blend for 3-4 minutes, until really smooth. You may need to add a tiny splash of cold water if your mixture is looking very thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
Keep about a third of the mixture in a small container in the fridge. Freeze the remaining portions individually.
TIP: When handling beetroot, use a lug of olive oil as you would use hand cream to form a skin barrier, then hold the beets with kitchen paper and the skins should slip off easily, without staining your hands.
Variations
Using the houmous base ingredients (chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon and salt), add your choice fo the following flavour combinations before blitzing in your food processor.
Paprika: 1 teaspoon paprika/smoked paprika
Traditional: 1 teaspoon paprika/smoked paprika
Green: a handful of rocket
Pesto: ½ a bunch of fresh basil (stems removed), 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons pine nuts
Parsley: ½ bunch of fresh parsley (stems removed) and 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Guacamole: ½ a ripe avocado, extra zest and juice of ½ a lemon, ¼ of a bunch of fresh coriander leaves, ½ teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
Tomato: 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes (drained of their oil)
Olive: 3 tablespoons pitted black or green olives and 1 tablespoon olive oil
Carrot and coriander: 2 roasted carrots (great if you have them as leftovers after Sunday lunch), with 1 teaspoon ground coriander and ¼ of a bunch of fresh coriander
Curried: 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1/1 teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon grounded cumin, 1 teaspoon tomato puree, 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
Red pepper and walnut: 1 roasted red pepper (seeds and stems removed and 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts
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