A beetroot revelation

There aren’t many things I won’t eat, or at least won’t make an effort with, and now the list is even shorter after the revelation that was beetroot hummus.

Up until last weekend, beetroot was a no go area for me. It’s an aversion which stretches back to childhood and the memories of horribly acidic pickled beetroot. There was always a jar of it on the table if we went for tea at my grandparents and it was awful. I remember an unpleasant texture in the mouth and an even worse taste. Once you also factor in the unappetising colour and the risk of the juice staining anything it comes into contact with, it’s hardly surprising I was put off for life.

For years avoiding beetroot was quite easy, but recently it’s seemed to be going through a distinct revival. The advent of so much more vegetarian and vegan food has played a big part in this. I Googled beetroot recipes before starting to write this and was offered baked, roasted, curried and even some cake options. Now I’ve had my hummus moment I might just be tempted by some of them.

The reason my guard fell and beetroot found its way into the house is that we signed up to a veg box scheme during lockdown. A box of organic goodies turns up on the doorstep once a fortnight and it’s been quite a lifesaver in recent months. Other than the guarantee there will be some potatoes you never know what to expect the box will contain and this time there were four beetroots. 

To be honest if it was up to me they would probably have sat at the back of the fridge slowly going soft, at which point I’d have quietly thrown them out while no one was looking. It wasn’t to be though. my partner is made of sterner stuff than me, she went looking for options to use them up and decided on hummus.

This is the recipe she used:

Ingredients

• 50g Walnuts
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 25g stale bread
• 200g cooked beetroot..cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp tahini paste
• I garlic clove..crushed
• Juice of a lemon
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil

Method

• Preheat the oven to gas mark 4.
• Put the walnuts on a tray and roast them for 5 minutes
• Dry fry the cumin seeds in a small frying pan over a moderate heat. Don’t do this for too long as you don’t want them to burn. Once fried grind the seeds in a pestle and mortar.
• Break the bread into small chunks and put it into a food processor along with the walnuts. Blitz until fine. Add the beetroot, tahini, most of the garlic, most of the cumin, lemon juice, salt & pepper, then blend to a thick paste.
• Taste and add a little more of the ingredients if you feel it needs it. If it seems too thick add a little olive oil

We ate it spread on flatbreads, but it would also work in sandwiches or as part of any salad you may be having.

This experience had made me wonder if I should be revisiting some of the other things I’ve decided down the years I don’t like. Perhaps the fluorescent jar of piccalilli which used to sit alongside the beetroot on grandma’s table wasn’t so bad after all.

The hummus was all gone before I thought to grab a picture to go with this post. Instead you have a graffiti aubergine. Far and away the best looking vegetable that any of our selection boxes have contained.