Za'tar Spiced Beet Dip

When Janice and I were in San Francisco, we ate at this little Greek restaurant after yoga one day. We ordered a creamy, lemony beet dip that I took a picture of so I could remember to re-create it. I picked up some heirloom beets at the East Liberty farmer's market in the pouring rain and made 2 versions of this recipe. The raw version (made with 5 raw beets and regular plain yogurt) is more liquidy and not as sweet as the roasted beet one but still wonderful. The recipe is from Food and Wine.

For the dip:

6 medium beets

3-4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small jalapeno, seeded

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp za'tar

Trim the greens off the beets. Since I got fresh beets, the skins were thin so I left them on. Roast the beets in a shallow pan filled with 1/2 inch water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes until a fork can easily pierce the center of the beet. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, roughly chop them and place in a blender. Puree the beets until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients except for the yogurt and blend. Add the yogurt and blend until incorporated.

Za'tar:

2 tsp sumac (found at Whole Foods)

3 tbsp fresh thyme

2 tbsp fresh oregano

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

Grind the sumac and sesame seeds together in a mortar and pestle. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Store in an airtight container. Sprinkle over everything! I just put it on my eggs this morning with some pesto.

Toppings:

1/4 cup roated hazelnuts, chopped

2 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled

2 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced

fresh mint

Sprinkle over the dip. I served this next to hummus with a loaf of fresh multigrain bread. It doesn't get any better than that!