Salad dressings & dips
Roasted beetroot dip with caraway flatbreads
This recipe calls for a fair amount of preparation, but makes a great start to a party. Or eat it as part of a mezze spread with hummus and Moroccan carrot salad. The distinctive bittersweet flavour of caraway is a great complement to the earthiness of the beets.
Ingredients
for the dip
- 500g beetroot, cleaned and trimmed, skins left on
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- 175g plain yoghurt
- handful fresh mint leaves, roughly shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ¼-½ tsp paprika, depending on your taste
- juice of ½ lemon and more to taste
for the flatbread
- 250g strong white bread flour and extra for dusting
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp quick-acting dried yeast
- 150ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil and extra for greasing
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 4 tsp caraway seeds
Method
For the dip
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
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Step 2
Wrap each beetroot tightly in foil. Place in a baking dish and roast. Depending on the size of beetroot, it could take from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more for very large beets.
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Step 3
They are done when you can easily insert a knife into the flesh through the foil. Leave to cool, then unwrap and peel off the skin.
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Step 4
In a dry frying pan, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until you can just smell their fragrance (do not let them burn, keep the heat low). Crush them using a pestle and mortar, or use a rolling pin and small bowl.
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Step 5
Place all the ingredients in a food processor. Blitz until smooth. Taste and add a little more lemon juice and seasoning as you like.
For the flatbreads
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Step 1
Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water, oil and sugar. Leave for a few minutes.
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Step 2
Pour the yeast mixture into the flour and use your hands to mix together. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead well for several minutes, until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
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Step 3
Lightly oil the mixing bowl, put the dough in and cover with a cloth. Set aside to rest for 1 ½-2 hours, until the dough has at least doubled in size.
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Step 4
Heat oven to 230°C/Gas 8. Divide the dough into four, and roll into balls. On a floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a flat oval shape.
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Step 5
Sprinkle over the caraway seeds and lightly press into the dough. Place on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the flatbreads are starting to bubble and turn light brown in places.
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Step 6
Bake in batches if needed and keep in a warm place. Serve warm.
