Beetroot Hummus with Turkish Onions

These beetroot hummus and turkish onions are such a lovely combination. If I could dip my bread in anything, this would be my first choice.

For the hummus

1 tin or jar of chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon tahini
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Juice of a half a lemon
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 clove of garlic, grated or crushed
1 medium-sized roasted beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped

Put all the ingredients into a blender. Hold back on the salt, lemon juice and tahini at first. Blitz until smooth. Taste and add lemon juice, tahini and salt until it’s totally delicious.

A tip: If your hummus is too thick and isn’t blending properly, drizzle in some ice-cold water until it’s the right texture. Somehow, the ice-cold water makes the texture extra smooth and creamy.

For the Turkish onions

6 baby onions, cut into quaters
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon or cider vinegar or lime juice (or a combination of both)
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or other mild chilli flakes)
Black pepper
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Small bunch of mint, roughly chopped

In a baking tray, toss the onions with 1 tablespoon oil and the sea salt. Spread them out in the tray, then put under a really hot grill. (You could also bbq them if you have a BBQ lit). Cook the onions, tossing them occasionally. You want them to be softened and nicely charred all over. It’ll take a good 10 minutes (don’t worry if you really char them a lot - they will be delicious)

While they are cooking, make the dressing.

Mix the the pomegranate molasses, lime juice/vinegar, sumac, Aleppo pepper, and the remaining olive oil in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Transfer the onions to the bowl of dressing. Toss in the chopped herbs.

Serve hot or at room temperature over your plate of beetroot hummus. Garnish with calendula petals if available!