Hot pink hummus

Ingredients

2 medium-sized beetroots (see notes)

1 x 400g can chickpeas or cannellini beans

2 tablespoons tahini

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Optional: a couple of drops of liquid smoke

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chilli powder (more or less, according to taste and the heat of your chilli)

Garnish: crumbled Angel Food feta, fresh herbs e.g. rocket, sesame seeds, diced fresh chilli

Instructions

1.          Trim the ends of the beets and remove any rough patches of skin. Cook until tender. I prefer to microwave them (they took about 15 minutes in the microwave), but boiling or roasting are other options.

2.          Drain the brine from the chickpeas or beans (I freeze the brine and use in soups and stews).

3.          Once the beets are cooked, let them cool enough to handle. At this stage you may want to remove the skins. I left the skin on, and it was fine.

4.          Chop the beets into chunks and place in your food processor bow with the drained chickpeas/cannellini beans. Add the vinegar, tahini, liquid smoke, salt and chilli powder, and blend for several minutes until smooth.

5.          If it’s too thick, add a little water or bean brine, and blend again until smooth.

6.          Taste for seasoning and adjust as you like.

7.          Use immediately or refrigerate for up to a week.

8.          Serve with dippers such as bread sticks, crackers, raw vegetable sticks. Garnish lavishly for maximum enjoyment!

Notes

You can use precooked beetroot for this – the flavour will be fine but the colour will not be anywhere near as glorious as when you use freshly cooked beetroot.