Beetroot hummus with za’atar and pomegranate

28 November 2021

medium

10-15

A lot of people aren’t crazy about beetroot, but I just love them. They are in season right now so I figured it was the perfect time to make this beetroot hummus with za’atar and pomegranate. It would be a great dip to serve as a less traditional Christmas appetizer. You could add some mini prawn-skewers, chicken skewers, falafel or of course serve it with some breads. I added some pomegranate juice and seeds too as it worked very well in my beetroot mousse.

I opted to boil the beetroot this time, but I usually cook them in the oven. It does take a lot longer though so if you are making this beetroot hummus for Christmas you might not have that time. If you do have time, then simply put the trimmed beetroot (skin on) in an oven dish with 2cm of water. Cover with tin foil and cook for an hour. Drain the water and let them cool down. And if you really have a lot of time left you can drain them and roast them in the oven for another 20 minutes before letting them cool down. On the complete opposite though, if you have no time at all you can buy cooked beetroot, just make sure they are not covered in vinegar.

Reviews

Ingredients:

Adjust Servings

	3 raw beetroots
	1 lemon
	2-3tablespoons tahini
	400g tinned chickpeas
	1/2 fresh pomegranate
	pomegranate juice
	2tablespoons za'atar
	1tablespoon cumin

Directions

1.

Remove the stem and leaves from the beetroot (if any), leave the skin on.

Place in a pot with boiling salted water and boil for 30-35 min until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Let them cool down.

I highly recommend wearing gloves for the next part, so that your hands don't get stained as beetroot will stain anything it touches. Peel the beetroot - the skin should come off if you just rub the beetroot with your hands (gloves), if not you can use a peeler or knife to help remove the bits that won't come off.

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2.

Drain the chickpeas, take a few out for plating later on

Add to a food processor along with 3/4th of the za'atar, all of the cumin, tahini and lemon juice. Fill half of the chickpea can with pomegranate juice and add it to the food processor.

Blend until you get a smooth mix.

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3.

Roughly chop the beetroot in chunks

Gradually add the pieces to the hummus while blending. Add more pomegranate juice if the mixture is too thick, it all depends on how big the beetroot was how much juice you need.

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4.