Beetroot Feta Dip with Cashew Dukkah + my 2024 Recipe Calendar is here!

October 20th, 2023

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Before I get to the recipe, I am excited to share that my 2024 recipe calendar is now available. If you placed a pre-order these were sent out earlier this week, including a little packet of saved vegetable seeds from my garden for the lucky first 100 orders. A massive thank you for this early support. It is always exciting to see a project I have been working on for months come to fruition, and I am thrilled with the printing and production quality.

This is my 7th recipe calendar after a year off due to my cookbook, The Homemade Table, being released late last year. I had many (many) inquiries end of last year for calendars, and I some disappointed people, so it was always my plan to get back to it for 2024. As usual, this is a self-published (and funded) project and printed locally in Whakatū Nelson.

The recipe calendar sales contribute to the costs and time involved in running my Homegrown Kitchen website and newsletter. My website content is freely available for everyone to access without advertising (no flashing ads here!) or sponsored content, and I would love to keep it this way with your support. Many thanks, Nicola xo

*Find more details about my annual Homegrown Kitchen recipe calendar here.

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And now to this delicious recipe…

Ah springtime, that time of year when growth is all around but the produce selection is a little lean. I find myself shopping by price and freshness, this week yielding some vibrant beetroot, among other things. With an abundant supply of silverbeet, salad greens, sprouting broccoli, and parsley from the garden this selection will be prepared in different ways for meals throughout the week. 

This is how I approach cooking with the seasons, focusing on getting creative with what is on hand. If you have a garden of your own you will know this well. Excess can be given away, preserved or frozen, while I find a multitude of ways to serve the same item so we don’t tire of it. Which might just inspire a previously disliked food to be enjoyed when it is presented in a different way. I always like to have a dip or two in the fridge and this beetroot one is a firm favourite at this time of year.

More Beetroot recipes on Homegrown Kitchen

• Roast Beetroot & Lentil Salad with Balsamic Dressing
• Chocolate Beetroot Brownie
• Beetroot, Black Bean & Sesame Burgers
• Beetroot, Caraway & Black Pepper Soup

Beetroot Feta Dip with Cashew Dukkah

Spring harvested beetroot is my favourite, they are sweet in flavour and vibrant coloured. When beetroot is this good it is rare that I don’t have some in the fridge, usually in both cooked and raw form. I use roasted beetroot wedges in salads (see link above) and dips, and the raw beets are grated with carrot, lemon and olive oil for a quick spring salad. This dip or spread brings a good hit of flavour, and the dukkah is not to be missed for extra texture. Once the beetroot is cooked (I do this in advance when I have the oven on) it comes together in no time.

Servings 2 cups

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Ingredients

• 2 medium beetroot, about 300g
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup (125ml) natural yoghurt
• 100 g feta, broken into chunks
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• small handful of dill or parsley
• salt and cracked pepper

Cashew Dukkah

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup (40g) roasted cashews, roughly chopped

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180-200ºC (fan 160-180ºC).
• First, cook the beetroot - I do this in advance when the oven is on to bake bread or to roast vegetables for dinner (hence the variance in oven temp). Beetroot takes some time to cook so it is good to make the most of the oven heat. Top and tail the beets and place them onto a covered dish (I use a small 15cm round dish). Add a splash (1-2 tbsp) of water, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cover and bake for about 1 hour until the beetroot is tender when pierced with a small knife. Alternatively, the beetroot can be boiled - cover with water and add a pinch of salt - for about 45 minutes until tender (or 25 minutes if using a pressure cooker).
• Cool the beetroot enough to handle (or keep in the fridge until ready to use) then rub off the skins. With a bit of applied pressure the skin should slip away, but this doesn’t always happen (this comes down to variety and freshness) so if needed use a small knife.
• Roughly chop the peeled beetroot and place it into a food processor with the remaining olive oil, yoghurt, feta, cumin, garlic and herbs. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Season to taste and scoop into a bowl.
• To make the Dukkah, place the spice seeds into an unoiled frying pan. Dry toast until golden and beginning to pop. Tip into a mortar and pestle (or use an electric food/coffee grinder) and coarsely grind the spices. Add the salt and cashews. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of the dukkah over the dip, and store the rest in a jar for sprinkling over salads, or to serve with olive oil and bread.
• Drizzle the beetroot dip with a little olive oil and serve with crackers and bread, or use as a flatbread/sandwich spread.