Beautiful beetroot hummus / Homus com beterraba

Colours have the power of turning things more interesting, more attractive. This assumption seems to be valid especially when it comes to food. Adding a single teaspoon of tumeric to cooking rice, for example, brings the dish to a whole new level. Not just the smell and the flavour of turmeric can make the rice special, but its beautiful vibrant yellow colour makes it unique. Same for beetroot. We got some beautiful and good quality organic beetroot last week and we were wondering how we could make something even better by adding a pink touch. So here goes an extremely easy hummus recipe. As we dislike raw galic, we just left it out, but feel free to add it in as much as you like. People say tahine is crucial in this recipe, but it works well without it too.

Ingredients

250 g cooked chickpeas*

1 medium (organic) beetroot, cooked**

3 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

juice of 2 lemons

1/3 cup cold water

dill, sesame and pumpkin seeds to decorate

Method

In the bowl of a food processor, combine chickpeas, beetroot, olive oil, pepper, salt, lemon juice and water and process until smooth and creamy. If the hommus is still a little thick, add a bit more of water and process it again until you reach the perfect consistency Transfer to a bowl and decorate it with a generous drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and fresh dill on top. Serve with pita bread, tortillas or fresh vegetables. 

*You can either use canned chickpeas or uncooked chickpeas. If using uncooked chickpeas, add them to a large bowl and cover with water. Soak the chickpeas for at least 4 hours. To cook the soaked chickpeas, add them to a large pot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chickpeas get tender.

**You can either steam the beetroot or bake it at 356ºF (180ºC) wraped in aluminium-foil until tender.

Ingredientes

250 g de grão-de-bico cozido*

1 beterraba (orgânica) média cozida**

3 colheres (sopa) de azeite de oliva

sal a gosto

pimenta-do-reino moída a gosto

suco de 2 limões

1/3 xícara de água fria

dill (ou salsinha), semente de abóbora e gergelim para decorar

Modo de preparo

No processador, junte o grão-de-bico, a beterraba, o azeite, o sal, a pimenta, a água e o suco de limão. Processe até obter uma mistura homogênea e cremosa. Caso o homus fique grosso, adicione um pouco mais de água até atingir a consistência ideal. Transfira o homus para uma tigela, regue com uma generosa quantidade de azeite e salpique endro (ou salsinha), semente de abóbora e gergelim. Sirva com pão pita, legumes frescos ou tortilla.

*Para esta receita, deixamos o grão-de-bico de molho por 4 horas e, em seguida, cozinhamos na panela de pressão por 15 minutos a contar do momento que a panela começou a chiar.

**Cozinhe a beterraba no vapor ou asse embrulhada no papel alumínio a 180ºC  até que fique macia.