There’s always a beet lurking in the fridge a little longer than intended. This one had been sitting quietly in the vegetable drawer, still firm, still hopeful. I hadn’t planned to make hummus with it, but that’s how most good things start, isn’t it?
Always roast your beets. Steaming or boiling just makes them flabby and waters down their flavour. If, like me, you feel roasting a single beet seems a bit wasteful, throw in a few sweet potatoes—you’ll be glad you did. A few garlic cloves can go in too, because roasted garlic is always a good idea.
The miso was a late addition, mostly because it was sitting on the top shelf looking smug and underused. I added a spoonful before I could second-guess it. The result is a creamy, gently earthy hummus with just enough savoury depth to keep things interesting. It’s the kind of thing that makes you pause mid-spread and go, huh.
We’ve been eating it with everything—cucumber sticks, smeared into wraps, anything even vaguely scoopable. It also happens to be a very pretty dip, if that sort of thing matters to you (it does to me).
It also makes a convincing case for being “a dish” when you’re not really in the mood to cook, but still want to feel like a person who eats vibrant things. Colour-wise, it’s somewhere between jewel-toned and aggressively magenta. Either way, probably don’t wear white anywhere near it.
BEET & MISO HUMMUS
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 medium beetroot
- 5 garlic cloves, left unpeeled
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon miso paste (I used shiro miso)
- Lemon juice, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Ice cubes, for blending
- Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Instructions
- Quarter the beetroot and wrap the pieces in aluminium foil. Also wrap the unpeeled garlic cloves in another piece of foil.
- Place them on a baking tray and bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 45 mins, or until a knife inserted into a piece of beetroot is tender. Let them both cool slightly.
- Toast the sesame seeds in a hot dry pan until they pop and lightly brown.
- Squeeze out the garlic cloves into a blender jar. Add the beets, cooked chickpeas, sesame seeds, miso paste, and a little salt. Blend to a smooth hummus consistency using ice cubes to help this along.
- Add the zest and juice of a lemon and blend again. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Once you’re happy with the taste and consistency, decant onto a plate and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of sesame seeds.
Notes
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