Roasted beetroot, carrot and onion hummus recipe

Beetroot grows in my garden from April right through to the end of autumn, some in the polytunnel over winter too. This tasty root vegetable stores so well that I can make this hummus at any time of year, but there’s something especially autumnal and satisfying about the combination of roasted beetroot, carrot and onion. Hummus is a great way of using up damaged veg which needs using up as it won’t store, including carrots that have been got-at by carrot root fly; just chop off the affected parts.

Later in the year, this recipe is a great way of using up stored beetroot that has become soft over winter, or woody beetroot – just chop out the woody parts and compost.  Its delicious taste and gorgeous colour makes beetroot hummus one of the most requested recipes on our course days.

You can use any kind of beetroot – red, yellow, white, pink striped. Here I’ve used red Boltardy, other colours will of course change the flavour and colour of the hummus.

You will need…

330g/12oz/2 cups cooked chickpeas
The chickpea cooking liquid (if you don’t have it, a small jug of water or liquid left from boiling vegetables)
125g/4oz/1 cup beetroot peeled and chopped (yellow, red, white or pink)
125g/4oz/1 cup chopped onion 
125g/4oz/1 cup chopped carrot
4tsp tahini
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon (3.5tsp)
1 tsp ground cumin seed 
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
small bunch of fresh herb leaves – parsley, coriander or basil
olive oil 
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 356°F, gas mark 4

nb: by “cup” I mean standard American cup measures. 

Peel the beetroot and chop the beetroot and carrots into cubes approximately 1.5 cm square. It is fine if the carrots are curved and not cubes! The uniformity of size is just so that they’ll take about the same time to cook.

The onion too, these are about 2 cm.

Put everything in a roasting tin and drizzle with olive (or other light flavoured) oil.

Tip: make twice as much as you need and freeze it. These roasted veggies make a delicious soup, curry or stew base, or pie/flan/veg crumble filling.

Roast in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until cooked. Check every now and then and wiggle the pan – wearing oven gloves of course – to make sure the outer veg doesn’t stick or burn. Check it is cooked using a sharp knife. Allow to cool.

Using a spatula, add to a food processor. Make sure you get all of the juice enriched oil in too.

Next, add the garlic, tahini, chickpeas, lemon juice, ground cumin and coriander, half the fresh herbs, salt and pepper (if using) and replace the lid. Start processing, drizzling the chickpea liquid (or water) through the processor slot in the lid until it is your preferred hummus thickness.

Put in a serving dish and admire the gorgeous colour!

Here, I have sprinkled on the smoked paprika, drizzled a little extra oil over the top and added the rest of the fresh herbs, chopped.

The hummus freezes well too. Enjoy!

You can also use raw beetroot and carrot if you prefer, but I should think it best to leave the onion out then as whizzed up raw onion can be a little alarming in a hummus! Add a cup of chopped raw apple in place of the raw onion, so delicious…!

This recipe is adapted from the seasonal hummus recipes in our book No Dig Organic Home and Garden. 

It is still a #1 best seller (well, it was this morning!)