Food: ROASTED BEET HUMMUS

For a winning party or potluck dip you cannot BEET this recipe.

It’s a nice departure from the usual Mediterranean style hummus we’ve come to love. Super creamy and flavorful. Full of vitamins and minerals. Perfect with pita or veggies. I made it twice in one month to rave reviews (unless they lied but I doubt it).

It’s also very simple to make. Once you have a roasted beet it’s a matter of throwing everything into a food processor or blender and whisking away. You might want to roast more than one beet (to use the others in salads, etc.) because that takes the longest time.

Ingredients:

1 small roasted beet
1 15-oz. can (1 3/4 cup) cooked chickpeas, mostly drained
zest of 1 large lemon
juice of 1/2 a large lemon
healthy pinch salt and black pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 heaping Tbsp tahini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C), remove the stem and most of the root from beet, and scrub and wash it under running water until clean. Drizzle on a bit of canola or olive oil, wrap tightly in foil, and roast for one hour or until a knife inserted falls out without resistance and is tender (similar to a baked potato). Let cool to room temperature.
Once your beet is cooled and peeled, quarter it and place it in your food processor. Blend until only small bits remain.
Add remaining ingredients except for olive oil and blend until smooth.
Drizzle in olive oil as the hummus is mixing.
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt, lemon juice, or olive oil if needed. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water.
Will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

But it won’t last one week because you’ll eat it up before then.

Food + Drink, Girl Who Would be King

Recipe of the Week – Tuscan White Bean Dip

Party Pleaser

Here’s a foolproof simple, healthy happy hour dip. It’s a creamier and delicious alternative to hummus.

1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
roughly 1/3 cup olive oil, plus a little extra to drizzle over top
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
Course Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (you can also use oregano – fresh or dried)
a little sprinkle of cayenne
*Zaatar (optional but worth it if you can find it)

Tip: if you want a thicker consistency you can always add some Tahini (sesame seed paste used for making hummus) or less olive oil. Play around with it. It will be great either way.

Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the food processor or blender. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl. Garnish with rosemary and/or other spice.

**ZAATAR (an exotic middle eastern spice mix made of sumac (from a flowering plant), thyme, roasted sesame seeds, marjoram, oregano, course salt. FYI: also great sprinkled over plain olive oil & balsamic for dipping.

Serve with pita, tortilla chips or fresh crusty french bread.

Sidenote: I have this thing for lazy susans. My fridge is full of them – it makes life easier if you have lots of jars, condiments + such. Now I bought a large round bamboo serving dish which I place overtop one of my lazy susans to place a variety of stuff on when company comes over. People don’t have to reach over you to get another slice of cheese or whatever…they can just rotate the tray towards them. I think it’s a better serving alternative.

FUN

Food: make a Super Bowl of creamy Three-Cheese Artichoke Dip

Artichoke dip is popular for good reason: it’s a bubbly, cheesy crowd-pleaser.

Photograph: Jennifer Olvera

And if you’re watching football, it’s essential to have the perfect dip on hand. When tensions are running high, you need to be able to reach your chip into a delicious dip without peeling your eyes away from the screen. You need to know it’ll be just right: gooey, satisfying, and deeply flavorful. Okay, I admit I’m not even a big football fan ~~I just like to look at what the players are wearing and watch the commercials~~ but I’m certainly game for this dip.

Note: Leftovers are tasty tucked into skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts. Just slice chicken horizontally down the center until you can open it like a book. Fill with about 1 ½ tablespoons of artichoke dip, and roast in a preheated, 375°F oven until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F, 30-35 minutes.

Ingredients

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ scant teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup Romano cheese, grated
2 (14-ounce) cans artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mozzarella cheese
Pita, warmed and cut into wedges

Procedures

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Beat cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, onion powder, paprika and salt in a large bowl using a hand-mixer set to medium speed until fluffy and thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, fold in Parmesan, Romano, artichokes and garlic. Spray a 9” x 13” baking pan with cooking spray and spread mixture evenly in pan. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

Place in oven and bake until heated through, bubbly and lightly browned, 30-35 minutes. Serve immediately with pita for dipping.

Superbowl Sunday is February 1st

Source: Jennifer Olvera is the author of Food Lovers’ Guide to Chicago, and she has all-but tested and developed recipes since toddlehood. She writes the Sunday Supper column for Serious Eats and regularly contributes food features to Chicago Sun-Times. She can often be found tending her garden, canning and traveling to far-flung destinations, where she writes about local edibles for pubs like Los Angeles Times and Frommers.com.