It is funny how eating with the seasons has brought a different set of food emotions into my life.  This is the first year that we tried very hard to eat local seasonal produce obtained mainly through our CSA or the local farmers market.  Winter has been the most challenging time because it has meant building a new repertoire of winter recipes for cooking squashes and root vegetables with which we were none too familiar.  In all honesty, over the last few weeks, I was beginning to get sick of figuring out ways to cook the endless supply of winter butternut squashes, beets, and kale that have made endless appearances on our kitchen table.  Then, suddenly the seasons began to change. A couple of weeks ago the fruit trees in the California Bay Area started flowering, and the farmers at the market have begun to offer the earliest taste of spring vegetables.  Fresh spring greens have started to come in, along with the first spotting of green garlic, peas, and asparagus.  Just like that, a new set of flavors liven up our meals and excite our palates. Ironically, I am now feeling nostalgic for those winter vegetables I know will soon disappear.

One of the winter vegetables that quickly became a surprising favorite in our house was the beet.  Having only tasted pickled and canned beets from the grocery store, it was surprising to discover how much we enjoyed the sweet and earthy flavor of roasted beets. We have grown so fond of them that we now regularly keep a bunch of roasted beets in the fridge to toss with some chopped apples, walnuts, lettuce, walnut oil and sherry vinegar for a quick dinner salad.  Yet, I remain on the lookout for new beet recipes.

This past week, Elise Bauer, who publishes Simply Recipes, a wonderful food blog full of her family's quick and simple whole food recipes, posted a recipe for Beet Hummus.  I immediately decided to try it with a couple of roasted beets I had sitting in the fridge, only I failed to notice that the recipe did not call for chickpeas.  Elise uses the roasted beets as a replacement for the chickpeas in her recipe, and I ended up adding the beets in addition to the chickpeas.  The result was a beautiful fuchsia-colored and delicately sweet hummus that is perhaps a lot more filling than Elise's original recipe, but with a milder roasted beets flavor.  I share it with you, so that you may try both recipes or take your pick between the two.  I will definitely give the original version a try in the future.

I should note that when I make hummus, I mix the ingredients in two separate steps.  In the first round, I thoroughly blend all of the ingredients that provide the hummus with its flavor to ensure they will be well integrated throughout the hummus.  I then add the chickpeas and olive oil and blend until just incorporated.  This way I end up with a hummus that has both a little texture and an even distribution of flavor.

Roasted Beet Hummus

2 small or 1 medium-sized roasted red beets, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup tahini sesame seed paste

juice and zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra if desired

1 cup cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for thinning the hummus

Place all ingredients except for the chickpeas and olive oil in a food processor or blender.  Pulse until well blended.  Add the chickpeas and olive oil and pulse until just incorporated.  Add more olive oil as necessary for blending the chickpeas into a paste, or to thin out the hummus to a thinner consistency.  Serve with warm pita or flat bread.

Makes 2 cups

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Cross-posted at Farm to Table