Don’t you find it so much more exciting to eat brightly coloured foods? I know I do. Lately I have been in love with the colour of beets and how the dark purple flesh of the beet can change into a hot pink simply
based on how you prepare the beets. Working with bright colours in the kitchen definitely makes cooking more intriguing and inspiring.
I was inspired to create this bright beet dip after having beet mutable from Souk Tabule. Mutable is a a traditional Middle Eastern cold appetizer typically made with eggplant, similar to baba ghanouj, but there are a variety of add-ins nowadays, like beets, that switch up the traditional flavours. As soon as I tried beet mutable for the first time, I fell in love and had to recreate it. It is deliciously garlicky, smooth and slightly sweet. It is a nice alternative to hummus if you cannot tolerate legumes. With four simple ingredients, this is something you could easily make on a daily basis, or in a big batch during your meal prep to have throughout the week.
Beets are a versatile root vegetable. They can be used for their bright colours as a natural food colourant, roasted to build their sweetness, or left raw for more earthy notes. Personally, I love them for their nutrient content!
Beets are high in a variety of nutrients, like phosphorous, potassium, folate, manganese and betaine. These nutrients make beets particularly important for and a key player in cardiovascular health, cell protection, methylation, and their role as a lipotrope. Methylation is a necessary component of gene expression and a variety of processes in the body. Basically, certain processes in the body cannot happen unless methylation occurs. Hormones and neurotransmitters need methylation to “activate” their functions. As a lipotrope, beets have a hand in reducing fat buildup in the liver (which could otherwise lead to NAFLD non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) and reducing plasma cholesterol (cholesterol in the blood). For long term health, beets should be a key player in your diet!
This beet deep is a great served with freshly chopped vegetables, crackers, or as a complement to your main meals, like salad bowls, which is my favourite way to enjoy it.
Best Beet Dip
Makes approximately 1.5 cups of dip.
2 medium beets
2-3 cloves of garlic
2.5 tbsp tahini
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1. Roast beets for approximately one hour at 400 degrees C until flesh is soft, or beets fall off a fork when pierced. Peel off skins.
2. In a high powered blender, blend all ingredients. If you have a Vitamix, you may need to use the long, black tool to safely push the ingredients towards the blade for smooth blending.
3. Scoop in a glass container and store in the fridge. It should keep for about a week.
Enjoy!
Source:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2349/2
Stuart AS Craig; Betaine in human nutrition, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 80, Issue 3, 1 September 2004, Pages 539–549, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/80.3.539
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