Recipe for Beetroot Hummus (From York Press)

Recipe for Beetroot Hummus

12:20pm Saturday 9th June 2012 in Too Many Cooks

JULIAN COLE passes on a vibrant recipe for hummus

VARIOUS versions of this savoury delight, which looks as good as it tastes, can be found. This take can be found in a couple of books by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, one a bread book and the other an everyday cookbook.

Spread on your favourite crackers or toast, or dip sticks of carrot and celery in this vivid dish.

Ingredients

50g walnuts
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
25g stale bread, crusts removed
200 cooked beetroot, cut into cubes (vacuum packed is fine, but nothing pickled)
A tablespoon of tahini (sesame seed paste)
One large clove of crushed garlic
Juice of one lemon
Sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil to dress

Method

Toast walnuts on an oven tray in an oven pre-heated to 180C/gas mark four for about seven minutes. Leave to cool.

Warm a small frying pan over a moderate heat.

Add cumin seeds and dry fry them for up to a minute, shaking the pan, until they darken and smell good.

Crush or grind the seeds. Break bread into chunks, put in a food processor or blender with the walnuts and blitz.

Add beetroot, tahini, most of the garlic, a pinch of cumin, half the lemon juice, a little salt and black pepper, and blend to a paste.

Taste the mixture and adjust with more cumin or salt, lemon juice and garlic, as desired.

Loosen with a dash of olive oil and refrigerate until required.

Serve at room temperature.