Beetroot and Dill Dip
If you are like me and have never mustered up much enthusiasm for this earthy root vegetable, you may tend to bypass it in favour of more familiar flavours when you visit your grocery or fresh produce store. However, I am hoping that once you try this recipe, you will become a fan of the jewel coloured, vitamin and mineral packing humble beetroot. On the nutritional side, you will benefit from folate, manganese, potassium, iron and vitamin C, as well as healthy fibre. In addition, as I wrote here, beetroot is high in nitric oxide. On the culinary side, this is a very versatile vegetable, which can be eaten raw, fermented, boiled or roasted.
This recipe was inspired by Tommy at Raw Blend. What I love about it is its simplicity. I prepare mine in my Vitamix, but I am sure you could also use a food processor. All you need to do is cook the beetroot (skin on) in a pot of boiling water (no need to submerge, as the steam will cook it) with lid on until it is soft enough to be pierced easily with a knife (about 30-40 minutes). Have a bowl of ice-water ready, scoop out the beetroot or strain the water and place in the ice water. Leave for a few minutes to allow the skin to be peeled easily. You may want to wear kitchen gloves if you don’t want very pink fingers. If you don’t feel like cooking the beetroot, you could use store bought cooked beetroot. The rest of the ingredients require no preparation and offer wonderful concentrated nutrients from the delicious macadamia, tahini, medjool date and dill. If you cannot get your hands on macadamia nuts, try it with cashews instead.
Ingredients
1 cup of beetroot (cooked) - about 1 large beetroot
100 grams raw macadamia nuts
1/4 cup of tahini paste
1 medjool date (pitted)
juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 garlic clove (peeled)
2 Tbsp fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put all the ingredients in the blender in the order listed and secure the lid.
Select the lowest speed, turn the machine on and quickly increase to medium speed.
Use the tamper to press the ingredients into the blades while processing.
Blend for 20-30 seconds or until the desired consistency is reached. If you want a smoother texture, blend on a higher speed or for longer.
Stop the machine and serve with fresh sour dough bread, on its own, or as accompaniment to a meal.