Beetroot Day!

It’s been a while since I made beetroot hummus for the first time (which I loved). And I said that I would do more beetroot experiments, including roasted beetroot hummus. A friend sent me a link to a beetroot cake recipe a while back, and I was immediately intrigued to try it. It had been on the back of my mind since then, along with the roasted beetroot hummus. Finally got a load of beets and started by making the beetroot hummus, and then as everything in my kitchen started turning pink, I thought “why not make the cake as well?” So I declared yesterday as Beetroot Day, and made both of them!

The roasted beetroot hummus was an absolute delight! Roasting any vegetable enhances its flavour so much….I would say always go for roasting if time permits. Roasting the beets also gave the hummus a much darker color that the one I made by boiling the beets. 

Roasted Beetroot Hummus

For 6-8 servings:

1 cup raw chickpeas
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 big beetroot
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
2 +1 tbsp olive oil
salt

Soak the raw chickpeas overnight with a generous amount of water (should reach about double the level of the chickpeas).

The chickpeas should have doubled in size and absorbed most of the water by the next morning. Check that the water level is just slightly above the chickpeas and boil in a pressure cooker for about 15 minutes until tender. (It would take about thrice the time if boiling in a pan). Drain, retaining the liquid, and keep aside. 

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F.

While the chickpeas are boiling, slice the beetroot, lay them on a baking tray, brush with 1 tbsp olive oil and roast for about 15-20 minutes, until they become soft. Let cool. 

In a blender, add all the ingredients and grind to a smooth paste adding the preserved liquid gradually, until you reach the desired consistency. Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with paprika powder.

Beetroot Cake

The beetroot cake was great too. Tasted a lot like carrot cake. I used this recipe, just substituting the eggs with egg replacer powder and adding a teaspoon of orange zest to the mix. I loved the flavour, though I felt that the cake was a little too moist for my liking.  Loved the color of the batter and the resulting cake though.....just gorgeous! Kind of reminded me a red velvet cake without the artificial coloring. Anyone got another beetroot cake recipe they loved? Would like to try it!