Beet Hummus--and an improved Beet Recipes Collection of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient

Steamed beets + chick peas and tahini make a tasty, pretty, pale pink hummus.

I'm still waiting to find the beet recipe that I will adore. The beet recipe that is the last way I'll ever want to prepare beets. The beet recipe that makes me look forward to beets in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share box with antici . . . [say it] . . . pation.

I've found that recipe for beet greens. I love them for breakfast or brunch, prepared this way. I could happily eat beet greens like this for the rest of my life. My family doesn't share the beet greens love, so I keep sharing new beet greens recipes on the blog.

In my summer project to transform my little blog Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient into a resource for folks eating from the farm share, I reached out to other bloggers for their beet and beet greens recipes. I'm delighted to show off the fruits of our combined labors [their recipes and my recall of my ABCs] in this post. I've got over 50 recipes to date and more coming!

The beets I used to make this hummus did not come from my farm share. During the window of time between the last Fall share delivery and the first pick up of the 2015 season, the generous folks from Melissa's Produce sent me a lovely cookbook and some packages of steamed beets. If you don't have access to fresh farm share beets, this product would be a good substitute. The beets are small enough to pickle or use as a side dish, and peeled/cooked ready to use. I used mine in hummus, and other I was not required to write nor compensated for this post [other than the beets + the cookbook].

As you can tell from the start of this post, I still haven't found the beet recipe. But this one ain't half bad. It's cute with carrot slices for dipping, it's pretty used as a spread inside wraps, and it tastes great with pretzel thins. Adding chick peas and tahini tones down the vibrant color to a pleasing pink.

Why yes, a kohlrabi leaf does provide a pop of color to your appetizer spread.

For more recipe suggestions to help you find YOUR BEET RECIPE, please see my newly-expanded Beet Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I'm sharing additional vegetable appetizers on my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks Pinterest board and on my FB page. Need help using this blog? Click here.



Note:  If you have raw beets, the easiest way to get them cooked is to rinse & scrub them, lay on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil or the cooking oil of your choice, and fold the foil into a packet. Place the packet on a tray and stick it into the oven. Crank the heat up to 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes, a bit more or less depending on the size of your beets. Give the packet a squeeze after 45 minutes, and if it gives gently turn off the oven. [If it's still hard, set the timer for another 15 minutes.] Once the packet is cool, open it up and slip the skins off and you've got peeled cooked beets. And pink fingertips.

Beet Hummus

2 cups cooked chick peas (or 1 can, if it's around 15 ounces, drained and rinsed)

8 ounces steamed peeled beets (mine were from Melissa's Produce, or see Note above)

¼ to ⅓ cup tahini

¼ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt (I use kosher and cook my beans without salt)

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

olive oil to drizzle

In a food processor combined the chick peas and beets. Pulse several times until they are in small bits. Add the tahini through the pepper, pulse to get the mixing started, and finish on high speed until smooth and uniform in consistency. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with olive oil.

If you want to keep this in a lidded container for multiple servings, bring to room temperature and drizzle with a bit more olive oil each time you serve. Keeps up to a week in the fridge.

School is out, and I keep expecting my photo studio aka my daughter's study area aka the breakfast nook table to clear.