Beetroot and walnut hummus

This #beetrootgate episode is long overdue… It has been almost a month I posted a beetroot dish, a spread turned into a creamy soup. Truth to be said,  actually never managed to get the right consistency. After trying a couple of times, I ended up doing this beetroot and walnut  hummus instead. Well, technically this isn’t exactly a hummus, as there are no chickpeas in this dish, but its colour and flavour compensate for this culinary liberty. It is a brilliant recipe, almost foolproof, with the earthy sweet flavour of the beetroot combining to perfection to the crunchy nuts and slightly tangy tahini. I had to hide it in the fridge before I ate it all, one spoon at a time.

Beetroot and walnut hummus (adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall‘s River Cottage Every Day)

Ingredients

• 50g walnuts
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 25g stale bread, crusts removed
• 200g cooked beetroot (not pickled), cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Toast the walnuts in a stove at  180 oC  for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant. Leave to cool.

In a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and dry-fry them, shaking the pan almost constantly to avoid burning, until they start to sizzle. Crush the seeds with a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder.

Break the bread into small chunks, put in a food processor or blender with the walnuts and blitz until fine. Add the beetroot, tahini, most of the garlic, a good pinch of the cumin, half the lemon juice, a little salt and a good grind of pepper, then blend to a thick paste.

Adjust it by adding a little more cumin, garlic, lemon, salt and/or pepper, blending again until you are happy with it. Loosen with a dash of oil if you think it needs it.

Serve at room temperature

PS – Cookies (Taralli Caserecci Pugliesi) courtesy of Coop Fine Food