Roasted Beet Hummus

The middle of last week, when I was getting close to leaving for Baltimore, my sister sent me a list of all the items she had in abundance thanks to her fruitful garden, and her CSA share that had just arrived. There were a number of things on the list, mostly green things (kale, spinach, green beans, broccoli, cilantro, collard greens) and one red thing, beets. My challenge, should I choose to accept it, was to use up as many of the offerings as possible during my visit. At the end of the day, I didn't do too badly, although she should have received her latest CSA share yesterday after I left, and her garden continues to produce, so I'm sure today she's right back where she started from.

Being a food blog, I am shocked and ashamed to admit that of all the food I made (and that's a considerable amount), I only remembered to take pictures of this one item. I have never cooked beets before, in any fashion, but before I left for my trip, I printed off a quantity of recipes to help me on my quest to empty her fridge. one of those recipes, was this one.

My sister loves hummus, so I figured she'd like this. I found the recipe on Tastespotting, my go-to site for fun new recipes to try. It turned out a lovely shade of fuchsia, and had a nice, sweet taste to it, very hard to describe, but we liked it! We stood around the dish the last day I was there, dipping into it with torn pieces of pita. If you like hummus, I'm betting this one's for you. Plus, you get to use beets, and actually LIKE them!

Roasted Beet Hummus

1-2 medium beets

1 can of chickpeas

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 small yellow or white onion, chopped finely

3 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 cup tahini
1 Tablespoon cumin

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. On a large roasting pan covered with foil, roast the beets for 40-70 minutes, or until smooth when poked with a fork. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then peel and cut into small chunks.In a small frying pan, heat the tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft, about 4 minutes.Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl.In a food processor, chop the beets, onions, garlic, and chickpeas together until smooth. Add the tahini and cumin, and process again. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then replace the lid. While the blades are running, slowly add the lemon juice and olive oil mixture until the hummus is at your desired consistency.Makes 2-3 cups hummus
Other items on the menu this week, that I failed to photograph:
Spiced Cilantro Shrimp with cold sesame peanut noodles (to use the cilantro)
Herb Marinated Strip Steaks and Lemon and Garlic Orzo with Shrimp (using broccoli, zucchini and summer squash)
Chocolate Torte with peanut butter frosting (for the birthday boy)
Peanut butter chocolate coated brownie bites
Green Beans with orange shallot reduction
Collard Greens with bacon and brown sugar (Duh, to use the collard greens)
White pizza with Kale, Italian Sausage and Four Cheeses (for the Kale, obviously - this was FANTASTIC, IMHO)
Herb Grilled Chicken Breasts (a la Roger) with corn on the cob and salad
Campanelle with green bears, feta and dill (beans, dill from the garden)

...and probably an item or two I am forgetting, but you get the idea!