BEETROOT HUMMUS WITH HAZELNUT DUKKAH
Makes enough for 8
.
Ingredients:
2 x 400g tins chickpeas
500g beetroot
4 cloves garlic
200ml water
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Tahini
200ml olive oil
100ml lemon juice
Hazelnut dukkah to serve (recipe below)
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Line a baking tin with foil, leaving enough to fold over and seal the contents. Rinse the chickpeas in running water then tip them into the foil-lined baking tin. Peel the beetroot then chop each into about six pieces and add them to the chickpeas. Peel the garlic, then tuck among the beetroot. Pour in the water and 5 tbsp olive oil, season lightly then fold over the foil and seal by lightly scrunching the edges together. Bake for an hour then open the foil and test for tenderness. If you can’t insert a metal skewer or knife point with the minimum of pressure then return to the oven for a little longer.
Transfer the beetroot, garlic, about three-quarters of the chickpeas and any liquid to a food processor and process to a smooth purée. Mix in the tahini, 200ml olive oil and lemon juice, then taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if required. Scrape into a serving bowl, cover with clingfilm then refrigerate till necessary.
Serve with some of the hazelnut dukkah and the remaining chickpeas scattered over.
Hazelnut dukkah:
75g hazelnuts
100g almonds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dried thyme
Put the kettle on. Warm a dry, shallow pan over a low heat, then add the hazelnuts and let their skins darken, occasionally shaking the pan to prevent them from burning.
Put the almonds into a heatproof mixing bowl then pour over the boiling water from the kettle and leave to soak for 10 minutes. When the hazelnuts are deep brown in colour, remove from the heat and tip them into a clean tea towel. Rub the hazelnuts together in the tea towel until the skins flake off. Remove the nuts from the towel and return to the pan, toasting them to a deep, warm brown. Roughly chop them, leaving some of the pieces quite large.
Remove the almonds from the hot water with a draining spoon and pop them out of their skins. A quick squeeze between thumb and forefinger should do it. Put the almonds into the shallow pan and brown as evenly as you can, then tip on to a chopping board and roughly chop, or into a food processor and blitz.
In the shallow pan, toast the coriander and cumin seeds till dark and fragrant, taking great care not to burn them, then tip them into a mortar. Toast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes, till the white ones turn golden. Give the spices and seeds a bash with a pestle until they area coarse powder. (Use a mixing bowl and pound with the end of a rolling pin if you have no pestle and mortar.) Add the nuts to the ground spices then stir in the salt, pepper and the dried thyme.
When cool, pack into a storage jar. It will keep for a couple of weeks.