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.
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.