Love is in the air with this beautiful beet-colored hummus.
In honor of valentine’s day, here is a recipe that’s both beautiful to behold and delicious!
The Be Mine Beet Hummus starts with a classic hummus base of chickpeas, tahini, some seasonings, and olive oil. But, like all things when love is involved, things start to get crazy.
The oven-roasted beet is what gives this romantic dish it’s vibrant rosy-red & valentine’s day pinkish hues. And by roasting it in the oven, you coax out some of those delicate sweet flavors from the beet, which pairs wonderfully with the rest of the recipe flavors, which are a duo of chopped mint and lemon that bring about something reminiscent of a refreshing gin-inspired cocktail.
On top of that, there are equal parts fresh mozzarella for a creamy richness and crumbled feta for hints of tangy savory flavor. As you can see, there is a lot going on here in this hummus recipe. But, again, like love, you take all those wonderful notes and blend them together to create something truly special.
I’d recommend topping the hummus with just a hint more mint, lemon, and feta to complete the dish. Shaping it into a heart, is, however, totally optional. Heart emoji.
Time You Need
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cooking ~50 minutes
- Yields: 2-3 servings
What You Need
- 1 fist-sized beet
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained but save about ¼ cup of the chickpea water and toss in along with chickpeas
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Salt, to taste
- ~1/2 cup of feta (plus more for topping)
- 1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella pearls
- 3 tbsp tahini
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 2-3 tbsp fresh mint
To serve:
- Oven-warmed pita
- ~1-2 tbsp chopped mint
- ~1 tbsp olive oil
- ~ 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- Feta, for topping
- Veggies (Carrots, peppers, etc. for dipping)
What You Do
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Scrub and wash the beet thoroughly. Cut off the tops of the leaves and stems of the beat (leaving about an inch for gripping and sealing in all that delicious beet juice.
- Wrap the beat loosely in tin foil and place it on a baking sheet to catch any drippings.
- Roast beet for about 45-50 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool for ten minutes (to make sure beet if done, insert a thin knife or skewer through the center of the beet. If it slides in relatively easy without much effort, it should be good to go/ If not, return to oven and roast a little longer.
- When the beet is cooling, add chickpeas (+ canned chickpea water), lemon juice, tahini, cumin, garlic, fresh mint, mozzarella pearls and feta in a food processor. Blend and while simultaneously drizzling in about a 1/3 cup of olive oil.
- Blend until the mixture is smooth. Then take the beet, peel of skins. If needed, use a knife, or even a vegetable peeler. Then cut into smaller chunks. Add to the hummus mixture and blend on high until smooth and thoroughly mixed.
- Spoon blended hummus into a bowl, top with additional mint, lemon or olive oil. Serve with fresh warm pita or veggies.