Virtual Vegan Potluck Appetizer Contribution: Vegan Beet Muhummara

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWelcome to the Virtual Vegan Potluck, an international “progressive” potluck meal, and you are one of our special guests!

To begin at the first “house,” visit Lidia at Vegan Bloggers Unite!

I volunteered to bring an appetizer, and I chose one of everyone’s favorites: Beet Muhummara (backstory and recipe follows).

But there are lots of other appetizers being served.  Be sure to visit the “houses” on either side of mine and from there, link by link, you can “progress” right on through all of the courses in one of the tastiest and varied meals ever served.

SENSUAL APPEAL is sure to bring something to the feast to delight your senses.  And VEGAN SPARKLES will, no doubt, prove that all that glitters is not gold!

So come on along, dinner is served!…

Do you walk right past the beets in your fall market?  If so, my advice is to throw it in reverse and back-up!  If you think you are a beet-hater, think again!

This jewel-tone beauty–a favorite in my cookbook–is inspired by muhummara, a Turkish roasted red pepper and walnut spread.  And it has single-handedly converted many a beet-haters into a beet lover right before my eyes.

Perfect for festive occasions because of its shimmering color–but simple enough for any day of the week (you can “beet” the clock with this one!)–Beet Muhummara is lovely with warmed pita triangles and olives or rolled up in lettuce leaves for “skinny” beet burritos. 

Yield: 4 cups

  • 3 large fresh raw beets, peeled and quartered (do not use canned beets)
  • 1 1/3 cups toasted walnut pieces (plus more for garnish, optional)
  • 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 3 large garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses or mild molasses, not blackstrap
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup olive oil

In a food processor, combine the beets, walnuts, bread crumbs, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, molasses, and lemon juice and pulse to a textured paste.

With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil and process until fairly smooth, but still textured. Scrape the mixture into a serving bowl, garnish with walnuts, if using, and serve.

From The Blooming Platter Cookbook by Betsy DiJulio. Copyright © 2011. Vegan Heritage Press.Used by permission.

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59 comments

  1. Thank you, Alex! I hope everyone gobbles it up–even the most unlikely–as has been my experience! Happy Holidays!

  2. Muhummara is one of my favourite things, right up there with beets! This is really imaginative and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the recipe.

  3. thank you, Kat, it sound like I must have been channeling you when I created it…enjoy!

  4. What a beautiful name – Muhummara! Sounds like a dance. Looks delicious. 🙂

  5. I love that Susmitha: a delicious dance! Thank you!

  6. Beautiful! And I bet it tastes amazing too. I’ll have to make it when taking it to a potluck–The Husband hates walnuts. Boo! I guess that means more for me…! 😉

  7. Thank you, Jennifer! It’s a big hit at parties. IF you felt like sharing with your husband, something like almonds or pine nuts, or a combo, would probably be a good substitution. Enjoy!

  8. […] I had a lot of beets and remembered that Reese had said that the only way he enjoys beets is in my Beet Muhummara which is, if I so stay so, a spectacular spread.  But I started wondering why beets couldn’t […]

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