May 7th - Beet, Chickpea, and Almond Dip with Pita Chips

BEET IT
Growing up Polish, beets were a staple of our house.  I love them.  And I love finding new ways to use them.  However, this recipe seemed a bit wierd to me.  Pureed beets in a dip?  The answer is a most definite: Yes, and it's delicious. 

I decided to buy the beets with the greens still attached to them.  They weren't any more expensive, and the greens can be saved and cooked up for another meal.  (I cooked the beet greens with some sauteed onion, ham, and water for 10 minutes...until the water mostly evaporated..and then added a tablespoon of apple cider vinger.  Delicious and simple).

Another keeper from this recipe are the pita chips.  They are way too good!   Brian just about devoured the entire batch.   What a great alternative to crackers or tortilla chips for most any kind of dip!

NOTE:  The dip actually came out a nice pinkish color.  The photo above makes it look like marinara sauce. It was the best I could take on such a cloudy, overcast day.

THE RECIPE
Ingredients:
Beets: $1.29
Garbanzo beans $0.99
Olive oil: $5.99 (I finally ran out)
Almonds: $2.99
Garlic: had
Red wine vinegar: had
Pita bread: $0.99

Total: $12.25

THE RESULTS

FAST: The beets have to cook for 12 minutes.  In the meantime, I got all of the other stuff prepped out for the dip.  Pureeing it all will take another 5 minutes.  Then, the chips took about 10 minutes (my oven seems to be running hotter than it's suppose to).  So, I had this on the table in about 27 minutes.

EASY: Peeling beets is a messy task.  I highly suggest wearing gloves to not stain your hands.  Also, I flipped my pita chips half way through cooking to brown them evenly (the recipe doesn't tell you to do this).  Those little suckers are hot and can be a little difficult.  Otherwise, if you've got a food processor this is a snap.

FRESH: The red wine vinegar acts like a little punch to bring out the freshness of the beets.  I would garnish with a little chopped up parsley though (not in the recipe).

OVERALL:  The dip was really good, but heavy on the garlic.  I only put in 4 cloves (the recipe calls for 5).  I'd make it for a party, but cut down on the garlic.  Maybe only two cloves?  I'd rather let the taste of the beets shine through then the garlic. 

For the weekend...white chocolate mousse.  How fitting the dessert for the weekend be chocolate with my chocolate cake in the process of being put together for Monday?   I know its blasphemy for a pastry chef to say this, but the smell of chocolate is starting to make me ill. 

See ya tommorrow (or Sunday).