In a single post, I am about to give you a lot of advice. Not only am I going to include a tasty and deliciously different recipe that’s great for a party or a healthy snack AND an opportunity to incorporate yet more winter root vegetables into your eating rotation. Nope, this recipe also comes with a side of “public service announcement”, which in turn is accompanied by a “TMI” warning.
I think it’s awesome that hummus has become as ubiquitous as it now is, that kids all over America have carrots and chickpea dip in their lunchboxes instead of sour cream potato chips. As much as I love hummus though, I have been thinking about other dips and vegetable-based snacks that are also healthy and taste great to serve to a crowd or just eat yourself on any ol’ day. This recipe for beet dip is another from Jerusalem. Besides the time it takes to roast and peel the beets, this is a fairly quick and easy way to mix up your snacks with some surprising flavors. Sweet beets, tangy yogurt and savory goat cheese come together with scallions, toasted hazelnuts and the spice mix za’atar…are you sold yet?
Anyone who has been to my apartment can attest to the fact that there is not a snack to be found there besides a variety of nuts that I will offer you from my freezer and raisins from my baking cabinet. I simply cannot be trusted to snack in moderation. This beet dip and others like it have changed that for me. It’ll keep for a little while in the fridge and is a healthy and filling way to keep you going between meals. It is also the perfect offering to bring for a get-together with some sliced vegetables or pita chips. As a bonus, the beautiful fuchsia of the finished product is so elegant! Less elegant is that after handling cooked beets, the hands holding this lovely offering will look like they are covered in evidence of a recent murder, but this cannot be avoided and is a small price to pay.
Which brings me to the PSA portion of this post. I found this dip to be so addictive that I ate it pretty much nonstop for an entire Saturday, foregoing other meals in order to EAT MORE BEETS. I don’t know if succumbing to this dip’s power will happen to you, but consider yourself warned. Come Sunday morning, let’s just say that there was…evidence…that WebMD diagnosed as a symptom of a serious medical condition, most likely kidney failure, that warranted an immediate trip to the emergency room. Please do not think any less of me when I tell you I began to plan my trip to the hospital, and that even after I read that certain foods could cause this symptom, I was unable to recall which bright red food I had been eating- almost exclusively- that could be the culprit. Friends, do not make this mistake.
And so, with these warnings, I leave you Yotam Ottolenghi’s beet dip- so good, it is worth an unnecessary doctor’s visit.
Ingredients
- Scant 2lb / 900g medium beets (total 1lb / 500g after cooking and peeling)
- 2 gloves garlic, crushed
- 1 small red chile, seeded and finely chopped
- Rounded 1 cup / 250g Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons date syrup (you can buy this in Middle Eastern groceries, or use maple syrup if unavailable)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil plus extra to finish the dish
- 1 tablespoon za'atar
- Salt
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon / 15g toasted hazelnuts, coarsely crushed
- 2oz / 60g soft goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C
- Wash the beets and place in a roasting pan. Put them in oven and cook, uncovered, until a knife slides easily into the center, about 1 hour. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel the beets and cut each one into about 6 pieces. Allow them to cool.
- Place the beets, garlic, chile and yogurt in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the date syrup, olive oil, za'atar and 1 teaspoon salt. Taste and add more salt to taste.
- Transfer the mixture to a flat serving plate and use the back of a spoon to spread it around the plate. Scatter the scallions, hazelnuts and cheese on top and drizzle with a bit of oil. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
From Jerusalem
