Beetroot and butterbean hummus

My love of beetroot is well documented on this blog. I simply can't eat enough of it. For many people, this fabulous root has been ruined forever for them by being exposed to the pickled variety, which completely kills off the earthy sweetness. You can roast it in the oven, wrapped tightly in foil and with nothing else added, for about an hour at 200C - afterwards, let them rest in the foil for 10-15 minutes then slip the skins off. Or you can cheat, as I so often do, and buy a vacuum pack of plain cooked beetroot from the supermarket for less than a quid.

Beetroot is also incredibly versatile - borscht is famous of course but it also works well in ice cream, for example, because of its sweetness and I recently stumbled across this recipe for beetroot rugelach, which I plan to make very soon.

Hummus takes less than 10 minutes to make in a food processor. This will keep in the fridge for up to a week in a sealed container.

What you need:
2 medium to large beetroots
A 400g can of butterbeans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 dsp tahini
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Sea salt and black pepper

What to do: 
Chop the beetroot into chunks, drain and rinse the butterbeans and put into a food processor along with everything else except the seasoning. Blitz into a thick purée, adding a dribble of water if you need to thin it a little. Season to taste, adding a little more lemon juice as well if it's on the sweet side.

Sprinkle a little dukkah over the top to finish.

Cook's tips: 
As with traditional hummus, quantities of ingredients are only a rough guide - it's down to personal preference so taste, taste, taste as you go. Beetroot can be very sweet, so I like to add a very generous pinch of sea salt. I also juice a whole lemon, so I have a little extra if the hummus needs more acidity.

Dukka is traditionally made with hazelnuts but you can use other nuts. This one in the photo is made with pistachios - I picked it up at a farmers' market but the recipe in the link is very easy and you can play with the ingredients.

Turlu

New year, new start and all that - I'm still craving simple dishes after overdosing on carbs at Christmas. And indeed, having signed up to do a 10km race for charity in the spring, now is the time for me to form some sensible eating habits while I teach myself to, you know, run. Further than a bus stop. But, I have no intention of starving myself on lettuce leaves for the next 4 months - I aim to eat as well as usual while subtly tweaking the things I like to eat to cut my fat intake and reduce the carbs, while upping my protein. So panic ye not, I've no intention of turning into a diet bore.

Last night I cooked myself a plate of turlu, a dish I last rustled up some 10 years ago. It's basically a very simple bean stew, originating from Turkey but found around the Balkans too. It's usually made with white haricot beans but I prefer to make it with butter beans, which I think are very underrated. Mixing up my European dishes, I grilled some Spanish chorizo to accompany it.

What you need: 
I small (half-size) tin of butter beans
1 onion, quartered and finely sliced
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Chorizo

What to do:
Put a very generous tablespoon of olive oil into a sauteuse and heat on a moderate to hot heat. Add the onions then turn the heat right down to low and let them stew very gently until they are translucent. Add the garlic and continue to stew until the onions are almost breaking up. Meanwhile rinse the beans well to get all the gunk from the tin off them. Add them to the pan, stir them through and add a small mug of water. Turn the heat back up to bring the pan to a simmer then turn it back to low, put a lid on and cook for 20 minutes or so. Halfway through, gently mash up the beans a bit with the back of a wooden spoon. Season to taste.

Cut off a piece of chorizo about 12cm long from the loop and split it in half lengthwise. Heat an iron griddle until it's almost smoking and grill the chorizo for 10 minutes, turning once.

Serve and eat with a green salad.

Cook's tips:
I like a lot of garlic so I'll always put 2 fat cloves in, sometimes 3 - stewing it for so long on a very gentle heat does take a lot of the oomph out it and renders it sweet instead of punchy, but try it with 1 clove first then up it next time if you're brave.