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Beet, Tahini & Yoghurt Dip
I developed a deep-seated love for Bobby Chinn’s show: World Cafe Middle East. Love the guy. He’s such a charmer, talks with so much ease, has a wicked sense of humor and knows his food.
In one of the last episodes they aired here in Holland he was visiting Israel and found himself sitting in a restaurant, at a table that was filled with copious amounts of fabulous looking food. Colorful and flavorful. I could almost taste each dish as they described what it was, where it originated from, and how it was cooked.
One of the dishes he raved about was a beet puree with tahini and yoghurt. Unfortunately that—and the heavenly look on his face as he took a bite—was all the info we got. No recipe, nothing.
I did find a few recipes online but none of them claimed authenticity leaving me with no idea how to make this properly. No problem. I just got into the kitchen and created a version myself.
I was really surprised how good something so simple could taste. Not in a million years would I have come up with the idea of a beet dip myself.
You eat this like you would eat Hummus or Baba Ghanoush. It has a real earthy, sweet and rich flavor that worked wonders for the falafel we stuffed our pita’s with.
Ingredients:
1 pound beets
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons tahini
3 to 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp lemon juice (optionally some zest)
1 teaspoon cumin
2/3 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
Directions:
Feel free to ridicule me, but I took a shortcut. Bought one pound precooked beets.
Want to make this from scratch? Just boil the (peeled) beets in salted water for about 30 minutes, until tender. Or you can roast them in a pan (unpeeled and tossed with some oil) at 400F (200C) for 50 to 60 minutes.
Add them to the food processor along with the oil, ground cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
If you don’t have a food processor you could also finely grate them into a bowl and then add the rest of the ingredients.
Grate the garlic in there.
For a little extra sweetness I’ve added a tsp honey.
Squeeze in the lemon juice. Next time I’ll add some of the zest as well.
In with the tahini.
And blitz until you have a puree. Taste to check the seasonings.
Add 3 to 4 heaping tbsp Greek yoghurt and pulse a few times or stir them in. This will turn the beets shocking pink.
Garnish with a little extra yoghurt and some parsley or mint on top.
Serve with pita chips, a falafel stuffed pita. heck, I think you might even be able to turn this into a healthy dressing!
| Beet, Tahini & Yoghurt Dip | |||||||||
| Ingredients |
1 garlic clove 2 tablespoons tahini 3 to 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 teaspoon cumin 2/3 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp honey 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 tsp salt pepper to taste Directions |
|
Add the beets to your food processor, along with the oil, salt, coriander and cumin. Squeeze in the lemon juice (you can also add some zest), pour in the tahini and add the honey. Grate the garlic in there. And blitz until you have a puree. Taste to check the seasonings. Add 3 to 4 heaping tbsp Greek yoghurt and pulse a few times or stir them in. Garnish with a little extra yoghurt and parsley (or mint). Serve with pitta chipd or a falafel stuffed pita. Meal type: |
dip, vegetable, vegetarian |
Servings: |
4 |
Copyright: |
© kayotickitchen.com |
|
12 Comments »
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Good to “see” you back on your feet, taking step-by-step photos again Kay.
Great dip. I love beets and tahini.
Stay well!
Still not on my feet, non weight bearing for at least another 2 weeks, but getting around easier now!
Yum! I’m on a “beet” kick lately. I love this idea!
A tip: your beets will be ten billion times tastier if you bake them in the oven instead of boiling them! This takes a while longer, but it really brings out the flavour and the sweetness in the beets.
I know! In the directions I said that you can either boil them, or toss them with some oil (unpeeled) and roast them in the oven!
ooh some of my favourite ingredients! I cannot wait to try this!
That looks tasty. Never had that before.
Me either. It was amazing on a warm pita with falafel!
I LOVE beets and can’t wait to try this! I still enjoy making your kefta…so flavorful.
Hi Kay,
I hope the swelling has gone down in your ankle. It’s nice to be getting around better, isn’t it?! Make sure you keep putting it up so the swelling stays down!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It has all my favorite ingredients. I love beets and the thought of it mixed with some creamy yogurt is to much to resist. I never would have thought of this own my own…..but it seems like such a natural! duh!
My sister and I experimented with a basic recipe for hummus and came up with additional flavors that we love to prepare (Mediterranean, Lime and cilantro, Spicy Roasted Red Pepper and a Roasted Garlic) and serve with Crispy Baked Pita Chips (we do our own) and crudites’s. I can’t wait to add this to the spread
I’m glad to hear you are healing. Maintain your patience. (Easy for me to say — I’ve progressed to doing therapy for my ankle — no more lying about!)
Love the recipe and with all the beets in my veggie plot I’ll sure try it. As for boiling raw beets, do yourself a favour and don’t peel them… you can easily rub off the outer layer of skin once the beets are cooked. Would be nice with yellow or orange beets as well, won’t give away the beet ingredient just by the pink colour!