Beet Hummus

They're baaaaaaack.

Beets. Pretty little suckers, I'll give you that. But it's their deep dirt earthy flavor I'm still struggling with. Still that doesn't keep them out of our CSA box every week.

Last summer we made them into beet chips with a side of curried yogurt dip and they were good. Really, addictively, shockingly good and I have to admit, I kind of loved them. So maybe, perhaps I don't hate beets as much as I think I do. In an effort to push my own culinary boundaries as much as I push the KC kids' and in penance for the cruel avocado trick I played on Looly last week: Beet hummus.

At least it's purple. That's something. Now, the original recipe did not call for garbanzo beans but I felt I had to include them both to warrant the "hummus" title as well as to convince myself that there was plenty of stuff in there that I like. I know. I can be very grown-up sometimes.

Once the beets are cooked, this hummus comes together so fast. I literally threw it together in the 5 minutes it took the kiddos to rescue their bikes and sidewalk chalk from the backyard before a thunderstorm was scheduled to roll through. By the first rumble, we were crunching naan chips with this lovely bowl of vibrant purple dip.

And guess what? It was good. Seriously good. The beets add a faint sweetness to the garlicky, lemony, creamy hummus with absolutely no dirt flavor to speak of. The cumin and tahini give the whole medley a satisfying warm nuttiness making it the perfect compliment for crisp mild vegetables or salty chips. And the color, well, you cannot beat that color. So, beets, perhaps there's something between us after all.

Beet Hummus
adapted from Simply Recipes

1/2 pound beets
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp tahini
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cut the greens off the beets and reserve them for another recipe or discard. Scrub the beets in cold water. Place them in a medium pot with and inch or two of water. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the beets are tender when pierced with a fork (about 30 minutes). Remove the beets from the cooking liquid and let cool slightly. Once their cool enough to handle, it should be fairly easy to pinch the skins off with your fingers. If you don't want purple hands, where gloves. Discard the skins.

Place the cooked, peeled beets in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth, thick and creamy. Serve with toasted pita bread, sliced vegetables, or naan crisps.