Beet Dip With Labneh
This recipe for a delicious raw beet dip comes from Botanica, a vegetable-focused restaurant in Los Angeles run by Emily Fiffer and Heather Sperling. The recipe is easy — throw everything into the blender raw — though it requires a little time for the blades to break down the beets with walnuts, olive oil and a few other aromatics. Fiffer and Sperling cleverly adapted the dip from muhammara, the Middle Eastern spread made from red peppers. Using beets creates another dish altogether, but one that tastes bright, sweet and earthy. Serve it with a dollop of labneh, as well as warm pita and quartered Persian cucumbers for dipping, and generously drizzle everything with olive oil and crunchy salt.
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 1medium beet or 1 bunch small beets (about 1/2 pound), peeled and roughly chopped
- 1cup whole walnuts, toasted, plus chopped walnuts for garnish
- 1lemon, juiced, plus additional, for zesting and juicing
- 1tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1teaspoon chile flakes, such as Urfa
- 1garlic clove, peeled
- 1teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1cup labneh, for serving
- Torn pita, for serving
- 3Persian cucumbers, quartered, for serving
Instructions
Step 1
Put the beets, whole walnuts, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, chile flakes, garlic and salt into a food processor or blender. Purée on high until beets and nuts are finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, and blend again, until the mixture gets slightly smoother. Add the olive oil, and blend again, scraping down the sides, until mixture forms a coarse purée. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice, if desired.Step 2
Spoon labneh into a bowl, smoothing it, then heap the beet dip on top. Top with a generous drizzle of olive oil and chopped walnuts; grate some lemon zest on top. Serve with pita and cucumbers for dipping.