Actually a winter vegetable, but the color fits perfectly with summer, doesn't it? This beetroot dip will be a colorful component for summer lunch or barbecue.
In the early days of my cooking experiments with beetroot, I used the vegetable for a vegan chocolate cake. Then I wanted to give a little bit more attention to its characteristic color and tried my hand at a pink beetroot pasta. Also, a classic hummus dip can be modified with beetroot - thanks to the natural colorant betanin, a phytochemical with antioxidant properties. In this recipe, it's not just the color that stands out, but also the sweet, earthy taste of the vitamin-rich tuber.
Summer Beetroot Dip
Ingredients
4 tubers beetroot (fresh or pre-cooked)
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp tahini
5 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp sunflower seeds
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp honey (alternative: agave syrup)
1 tsp salt
3 leaves fresh sage
Preparation
When it's in season and you have the opportunity to get beetroot fresh from the field, take the time to cook the fresh beetroot, taking advantage of all the vitamins and minerals the fresh vegetable provides. If you are short on time or it's not the season, of course you can use cooked beetroot instead.
For the special sage flavor, I recommend roasting fresh sage leaves with a little bit of olive oil for no longer than one minute. You can also add the sunflower seeds and roast all together. Add a little bit of salt at the end. Tip: Put a little bit aside for the topping.
A substitute for fresh sage is of course dried sage or sage powder.
Serving
Dips are best presented in a beautiful bowl with a decorative topping. I usually use ingredients of the dish itself, so you can see right away what's in it. In this recipe, I simply added a bit of olive oil and a decoration of the sage and sunflower seeds on top.
Doesn't the dip look great on this colorful lunch table?
Summer Beetroot Dip with Thyme and Chia Seeds
When I spontaneously contributed the beetroot dip to Friday afterwork lunch at the office today, I had to find a different topping. Fresh thyme from our roof terrace garden together with some chia seeds worked as a great alternative. I can't wait to try this recipe with thyme as a salvia substitute in the dip itself!
Summer Beetroot Dip with Sesame Falafel
As a side dish for oven vegetables or as a dip for bread, this beetroot dip goes really well with some crispy falafel. A perfect fingerfood snack that will impress your guests. Follow this link for my sesame falafel recipe.
