Pink and Gold Beet Dip with Pine Nuts

This recipe was originally published in the award-winning cookbook Eat, Habibi, Eat! Fresh Recipes for Modern Egyptian Cooking by Shahir Massoud (Appetite by Random House, 2021). You can purchase Eat, Habibi, Eat! here

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized red beets
• 3 medium-sized yellow beets
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 4 cloves garlic, divided
• 1 cup Greek yogurt, divided
• 1 cup tahini, divided
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• 2 tsp ground cumin, divided
• 2 tsp ground coriander, divided
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice, divided

Garnish

• ⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted and chopped
• ¼ bunch chives, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp za’atar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wrap the red beets in a tight foil packet, and wrap the yellow beets in a separate foil packet. Try to find beets of similar size so that they cook in the same amount of time, and keep the yellow beets separate from the red ones to preserve their contrasting color.
2. Roast on a baking sheet for 1½ to 2 hours, or until very tender. Remove the beets from the oven, unwrap them from the foil packets, and peel while still warm. Chop the peeled beets, reserving ½ cup of the yellow beets for garnish.
3. Puree the yellow beet dip first. Place the peeled and chopped yellow beets in the food processor and add the turmeric. Then add 2 cloves of garlic, ½ cup of the yogurt, ½ cup of the tahini, 1 teaspoon each of salt, cumin, and coriander, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Puree until very smooth. Remove from the food processor and transfer to a bowl.
4. Repeat with the red beets. Add them to the food processor along with the remaining garlic, yogurt, tahini, salt, cumin, coriander, and lemon juice. Blend until very smooth.
5. To plate, place a dollop of the yellow beet dip on the bottom of your serving bowl. Top with some of the red beet dip, then artfully draw swirls through the whole thing with an offset spatula or the tip of a knife. Creatively add more dollops of the contrasting colors to create a unique look. To finish, top with the pine nuts, chives, za’atar, olive oil, and the leftover yellow beets. Most importantly, post a picture of all this hard work on Instagram before you dig in!