By Kathryn Reed

I keep wanting to like hummus. I finally found a recipe I really like. It is the added lemon that makes it better than the average concoction.

Eating pink food isn’t always appetizing. If you can get over the color, the taste is great.

This would be a great dish to have at the holidays to give a little color to the table and be festive. Golden beets might work well for Thanksgiving – a little more fall-like.

It’s also one dish than can be made up to a week ahead of time.

Turning on the oven for more than an hour just for one beet seems like a waste of energy. So, while the beet for the hummus was cooking I roasted other veggies for dinner. I have not tried cooking a beet in the microwave like you can do with potatoes. If it were to explode, that would be one mess I would not want to clean.

Roasted Beet Hummus

1 medium beet, roasted

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas

¼ C tahini

5 large garlic cloves

1 medium lemon – juice and zest

½ tsp Kosher salt

¼ tsp pepper

1/8 C olive oil

Place beet in pan, bake at 400 degrees for at least an hour. It should be tender when a fork goes into it.

Let beet cool, then peel it. Puree in food processor or blender until smooth.

Add chickpeas and liquid, tahini, garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper. Blend.

Gradually add in oil to the consistency you like. Water can be added if it’s too thick. Adjust seasonings.

Serve with veggies, crackers and/or pita chips.