Roar Recipes

When it comes to snacking I prefer to keep it simple. The simpler the better in fact. My favourites consist of just a few fresh ingredients that can be quickly thrown together, and those that I can prepare in advance to enjoy later shoot right to the top of my list.

 

Homemade hummus has to be one of the simplest snacks around and is brimming with nutritional benefit, and what’s more my modern make-over of this traditional middle-eastern dip only adds to that.

 

Your traditional hummus alone promotes good health. With a combination of health fats, essential dietary fibre and plenty of protein you’ll feel instantly satisfied and stop reaching for the biscuits. It’s also a tasty way of consuming raw garlic, which evidence also shows to have powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties as well as potential for preventing certain cancers.

 

And if you needed more reasons than that, the addition of beetroot to my recipe adds a delicious flavour, colour and more nutrients to boot! LoveBeetroot.co.uk is overflowing with nutritional insight for this root veg so don’t just take my word for it.

 

So without further ado…here’s the recipe

 

Ingredients:

 

250g Beetroot (about one large beetroot)

120g Canned Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

1 tbsp Olive Oil

2-3 Cloves of Garlic crushed

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

3 tbsp Tahini

Generous seasoning of Salt (and pepper if you fancy)

 

Method.

 

Begin by roasting your beetroot is a pre-heated oven at 180c. This is best done in advance to allow sufficient time for it to cool down. Wrap your beetroot whole in tin foil and roast for 1-1.5hours until you’re able to slice through it with ease.

 

Once roasted and cooled, peel off the skin and chop into quarters. To avoid beetroot stained fingers, cover your fingers with olive oil before doing this, but just be careful with the peeler if you do!

 

Begin blending the cooked beetroot in a food processor until coarsely chopped, followed by adding in the chickpeas and Olive Oil and repeating. Once well blended add in the remaining ingredients and continue pulsing the processor until the mixture is smooth. Give the hummus a try and season to suit your taste. Remember the strength of the garlic will intensify slightly once the hummus is chilled, so refrain from adding in any more if you cant taste it just yet.

 

Either serve right away, or scoop the hummus into a few small tupperwear pots and store in the fridge. The hummus will last up to 4 days in the fridge, if its not all been devoured before then!