Beetroots. You either love them or hate them. I haven’t met anyone yet who feels neutral about them. I happen to be in the love them category, and have managed to get my husband on side as well. Thankfully, my daughter is also a fan. This is a great one to make with little ones, because they love watching the beetroot turn the hummus a crazy pink as you blitz it in the blender. This is one of our favourite family snacks. We enjoy this as you would any regular hummus – with veg sticks or flatbreads. Our favourite flatbreads are the gluten free Cassava Tortillas from Hewewi.

A lot has been written in recent times about the benefit of incorporating raw food into one’s diet. We are not planning to go completely raw, but recipes like this, along with salads and smoothies a couple of times a week, really help us to incorporate the nutrients of fresh, raw food into our diet. Beetroots are a superfood, apparently great for cleansing your liver, which in turn detoxifies the rest of your body.

If you are someone who has been wanting to incorporate the benefits of beetroot into your diet, but don’t know how, this is a great way. All you have to do is revel in childlike fascination at the play-doh-like colour, and put it in your mouth. Mmmm.

Ingredients

1 raw beetroot, peeled and grated

1 400g can chickpeas + about one third of the water in the can

2 heaped tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 table spoons olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

Method

-Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Be cautious with the water, you may need to stop the blender and manually mix the puree a few times to get the blender going. Try this before adding more water or else you may end up with your hummus too runny.

-Serve with your favourite crackers, flatbread, or vegetable sticks.