Serves 4-6, as a starter
4 medium-sized beetroot
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
250ml natural yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
2 pita breads
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Peel beetroot and cut into small (2cm) dice, put into a bowl and drizzle over 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and toss so the beetroot is coated with the oil. Scatter the beetroot over an oven tray and bake for 20-30 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and let the beetroot cool down a while.
2. While the beetroot cools, make the pita bread crisps. Turn the oven up to 200°C, open out the bread, cut into triangles and bake on a flat tray in the oven for 10 minutes, until crisp. Remove and let them cool down.
3. Place the cooled beetroot into a blender, add the garlic, spices, lemon juice, yoghurt, salt, the rest of the olive oil, the chilli (if you like it really spicy) and blend to a puree.
4. Serve the dip with the pita crisps as a starter for any meal or barbecue.
This great recipe by Cheryl Maddocks first appeared in the ‘Burke’s Backyard’ magazine.