Wood-fired!

Syrian-dipity

September 4th, 2008

A little while back I had a bunch of family around for my partner’s birthday. The main course was Neil Perry’s Persian lamb stew and I needed something to start that we could eat casually while presents were given and opened.

I ended up serving four great dips with lots of warm turkish bread. The smoky baba ghanoush was a given as was my standard creamy hummus. I found two more dips in Barry Véra’s Feast Bazaar.

One was a bean dip with feta from Syria which was pretty good and worth making again but the other was an absolute stunner.

Also Syrian, Beetroot and Yoghurt Dip is, as Barry says, colourful and very tasty! In fact for me I eclipsed all the others including the Baba Ghanoush that I have raved about previously.

Thanks to Barry and all the generations who have perfected this wonderful recipe.

Beetroot and Yoghurt Dip
• 500g beetroot
• 500g plain yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 20 mint leaves, thinly sliced (optional)
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 6 pides (Turkish/flat breads), warmed to serve

Peel the beetroot and trim the ends. Cut into chunks and place in a saucepan of boiling salted water. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until tender. Use the point of a sharp knife to test if the beetroot is cooked - the knife should slide through, but the beetroot should still be firm. Remove from the heat, drain and refresh under cold running water, then drain again.

When cool enough to handle, coarsely grate the beetroot into a mixing bowl, then fold in the yoghurt, tahini, garlic, cumin, lemon zest and juice. Season to taste, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours until chilled.

To serve, fold in the sliced mint, if desired, and adjust the seasoning to taste. Place in a serving bowl, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and serve with warm pide.

Hope you try this and sorry about the pun!

Entry Filed under: Food