Recipe: Roasted Beet Hummus

I know we all love hummus but do you want to kick it up a notch? Use beets! Especially in the cold months where are body needs immune-boosting nutrients, beets are high in vitamin C, and potassium. We had a much earlier recipe posted using the greens of the beets which also are very healthy. So all around it’s a great vegetable to cook with.
This recipe is super easy and not much different than your average hummus recipe with chickpeas.  What’s great about hummus is you can really cater it to your specific taste so have fun.

Ingredients
    •    2 small roasted beets (peeled)
    •    1 15-oz. can (1 3/4 cup) cooked chickpeas, mostly drained
    •    zest of 1 lemon
    •    juice of 1/2 a large lemon
    •    healthy pinch salt and black pepper
    •    2 large cloves garlic, minced
    •    2 heaping Tbsp tahini
    •    1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
    1. Roasted beets:
        Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  loosely wrap beets in foil tossed with oil. Cook through for about 45-50 minutes. Let cool then peel and cube.
    2.    Once your beet is cooled and peeled place it in your food processor. Blend until only small bits remain.
    3.    Add remaining ingredients except for olive oil and blend until smooth.
    4.    Drizzle in olive oil as the hummus is mixing.
    5.    Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt, lemon juice, or olive oil if needed. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water.
    6.    Will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe Poached Pears

Pears are a great alternate to apples and can be available in the summer and winter. They are great for table presentations and just as easy to cook with. Poaching is cooking in a gently-heated liquid. It’s not just boiling water like poaching eggs. With this method of cooking the liquid can be stock, wine, or another sugar mixture. You can use different types of fruit like pears. Personally I thought it would be pretty to top the bundt cake with poached pears and drizzle with the poaching liquid over top! The French word for this is “Frissonne”, meaning that the liquid should be just hot enough to make the surface shiver.

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3-4 bosc pears (peeled)
1 star anise

Directions

Combine the water, sugar, cinnamon, and star anise in saucepan over low heat. Cook stirring for 2 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Add the pears and cook covered for 15 minutes or until soft. Use a slotted spoon to remove.

Take the liquid in the pot and transfer to a pan and boil high uncovered for 15 minutes until reduced to half.

Drizzle syrup over pears (or bundt cake) and serve