Recipe: Beet Muhammara

This surprisingly sweet dip — made from delicious raw beets — is great with vegetables or whole-grain crackers or as a topping on a piece of salmon. Use it as part of a vegetable platter pre-dinner or for a snack.

Bonus: This dip loves you back. Beets are loaded with precursors to compounds needed to dilate your arteries and keep your cardiovascular system healthy.

Ingredients

1/3 cup (about 1.2 ounces) walnuts, toasted
1 garlic clove, peeled
8 ounces beets (about 2 medium), peeled, cut into ¾-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Combine walnuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse using on/off turns until finely chopped.
2. Add beets and lemon juice, and pulse until all ingredients are incorporated and finely chopped.
3. Add 3 tablespoons oil and ¼ teaspoon salt and process until a chunky paste forms, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.
4. For a thinner consistency, add additional oil by teaspoonfuls. Taste and season with more salt, if desired. Transfer to a small bowl. Garnish with parsley.

COOK’S NOTE: To toast walnuts, place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and cook for about 8 minutes at 350ºF. They will turn a light golden brown. Don’t keep toasted nuts for too long, because the heated fats turn rancid more quickly than raw nuts.

Nutritional information (per serving)

Makes 5 servings

Calories: 113
Total fiber: 1.1 g
Soluble fiber: 0.34 g
Protein: 1.5 g
Total fat: 10.3 g
Saturated fat: 1.7 g
Healthy fats: 8.5 g
Carbohydrates: 4.9 g
Sugars: 3 g
Added sugars: 0 g
Sodium: 120 mg
Potassium: 136 mg
Magnesium: 17 mg
Calcium: 12 mg

Source: The What to Eat When Cookbook by Michael F. Roizen, MD, Micheal Crupain, MD, MPH, and Jim Perko, Sr, CEC, ACC, National Geographic books (2020).