At my local farmers' market a couple of weeks ago one of the prepared food vendors had a new product that made a big impression on me. First of all, I love hummus, nearly every flavor I've ever tried. Not only does it make a healthy dip for fresh veggies, it also adds a great creaminess to o/v salad dressings, it's a good sandwich spread, or back in a dip formation with crispy flat bread or slightly softer pita it's a great party starter. This clever vendor took hummus and added something else I love to make another delicious hummus variety with incredible color and flavor. I'm talking about BEETS! Yes, they're not just for fancy salads with goat cheese and candied pecans any more, though I will still eat quite a few of these too.
Fellow beet lovers will immediately think "yes, beets in hummus, why hasn't someone thought of this before". Beet haters, who are mostly haters because they were force fed canned beets when they were young enough to still be force fed, and thought "yuk", will give beets another chance and fall in love with their earthy goodness in this fuchsia colored pool of creamy deliciousness.
Beet Hummus
4 whole beets, cooked/peeled -------------------->
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. minced shallots
juice of 1/2 a blood orange
zest of 1/2 a lemon 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
Kosher salt to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 pkg.. silken tofu
Put everything in a processor and blend until you're
happy with the consistency. This will take a while
but it's worth the wait.
 |
Beet Hummus & Mixed Grain/Veggie Salad
(bonus serving suggestion) |
Here's where I try and include something sort of cute and/or funny to weave into my post. In looking for a title of course I thought of the classic Sonny & Cher tune 'The Beat Goes On' so I googled it and there were a ton of sites, blogs, story titles, etc., already using this title. But then I found 'And The Beat Goes On' which was a classic tune from The Whispers that I had totally forgotten about and that I really like, so I clicked on that, enjoyed a trip down movin' groovin' memory lane, and I know those of you who loved Disco (and you know who you are) will love it too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slldMEPvUqA
At my local farmers' market a couple of weeks ago one of the prepared food vendors had a new product that made a big impression on me. First of all, I love hummus, nearly every flavor I've ever tried. Not only does it make a healthy dip for fresh veggies, it also adds a great creaminess to o/v salad dressings, it's a good sandwich spread, or back in a dip formation with crispy flat bread or slightly softer pita it's a great party starter. This clever vendor took hummus and added something else I love to make another delicious hummus variety with incredible color and flavor. I'm talking about BEETS! Yes, they're not just for fancy salads with goat cheese and candied pecans any more, though I will still eat quite a few of these too.
Fellow beet lovers will immediately think "yes, beets in hummus, why hasn't someone thought of this before". Beet haters, who are mostly haters because they were force fed canned beets when they were young enough to still be force fed, and thought "yuk", will give beets another chance and fall in love with their earthy goodness in this fuchsia colored pool of creamy deliciousness.
Beet Hummus
4 whole beets, cooked/peeled -------------------->
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. minced shallots
juice of 1/2 a blood orange
zest of 1/2 a lemon 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
Kosher salt to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 pkg.. silken tofu
Put everything in a processor and blend until you're
happy with the consistency. This will take a while
but it's worth the wait.
|
Beet Hummus & Mixed Grain/Veggie Salad
(bonus serving suggestion) |
Here's where I try and include something sort of cute and/or funny to weave into my post. In looking for a title of course I thought of the classic Sonny & Cher tune 'The Beat Goes On' so I googled it and there were a ton of sites, blogs, story titles, etc., already using this title. But then I found 'And The Beat Goes On' which was a classic tune from The Whispers that I had totally forgotten about and that I really like, so I clicked on that, enjoyed a trip down movin' groovin' memory lane, and I know those of you who loved Disco (and you know who you are) will love it too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slldMEPvUqA
Can't wait to try it!! I have to eliminate the tofu, tho (I'm allergic to soy); would tahini work as well? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTahini would be great and it's the ingredient used in most hummus recipes but because I didn't have any on hand I used the tofu. A little ground flax seed blended with the oil first and then added to the other ingredients would probably be ok too. Thanks for your comment, whoever you are!
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteThis looks so yummy. What a terrific idea! You have opened up a whole world of hummus + veggie puree possibilities! I like your addition of orange juice and cumin too.
Your suggestion of using hummus to make dressings more creamy also sounds great, and I liked the salad in the photo. After I clicked to enlarge it, the salad looked even more enticing. What grains did you use?
re Anonymous' comment: If you used tahini, would you put less olive oil and perhaps add lemon juice or water, since tahini is denser than silken tofu?
Thanks for brightening my Tuesday!
The grains in the salad were a combination of wheat berries and a brown/black/red rice mixture.
ReplyDeleteIdeally you have grains that require the same method/time of cooking, but in this case I just cooked the wheat berries first, put them on hold, cooked the rice mixture, then put everything together. Not sure how to answer your question about tahini/tofu - honestly, I did trial and error. Why don't I listen to you and write everything down?
That sounds delicious and healthy too! I love combinations of grains, in salads or otherwise. Did you cook extra of the grain mixture, and what else did you make with it?
ReplyDeleteRegarding the tahini, it might work to put it in the blender with the other ingredients and only half the olive oil, and if the mixture is too thick, to gradually add lemon juice and water, and to taste before adding more olive oil.
This is the beetest hummus EVER! I LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteCyn, glad you loved it. You make it next time!
ReplyDelete