Beetroot hummus and baba ghanoush on soda bread {vegan}

(cliccate qui per la versione italiana)

Happy Monday everyone!

When I went to Ireland a few years ago I loved the typical soda bread, a kind of semi-sweet and crumbly bread eaten during meals, warm with butter. I don’t love butter but in that case it paired unsurprisingly well. The bread itself was delicious too! I tried making a vegan version and discovered how easy it is. I decided to serve it with a colorful hummus and one of my favorite dips: baba ghanoush. If you don’t know it, it’s a Middle eastern dish composed of eggplants broiled or baked whole with skin on and then peeled once cooked, revealing an amazing smoky flavor. The pulp is mashed and combined with tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon and herbs/spices.

BEETROOT HUMMUS AND BABA GHANOUSH ON SODA BREAD {vegan}
by Marta Giaccone

Recipe
~ 2 cups hummus; 2 cups baba ghanoush; 1 loaf of bread
prep time: 30 mins, cook time: 1 hr 45 mins mins, total: 2 hr 15 mins

Beetroot hummus
1 can chickpeas
1 medium beetroot, cooked
2 heaping tbsp tahini
pinch salt
juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove
olive oil
fresh thyme

Method

1. Rinse and drain chickpeas.
2. Put in a blender glass along with half a beetroot, 2 tbsp tahini, salt, juice of ½ a lemon, ½ a garlic clove. Pulse and add more of any ingredient as needed. If you need more liquid you can use some beet juice, more lemon or a little bit of water. Don’t add too much liquid or the hummus will turn out too runny. Pulse until you achieve a creamy texture.
3. Transfer to a bowl and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour. When ready to serve, garnish with olive oil and fresh thyme.

Baba Ghanoush
2 eggplants
2 tbsp tahini
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt
1 garlic clove
fresh mint/parsley

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Wash eggplants and, with a fork, prick them on all sides. Wrap them in foil individually. Place on a baking tray and bake for about 60 minutes or until they start “deflating”. You can check with the back of a fork. They must be completely cooked (very soft!!).
2. Once done, cut in four and let cool. With a fork scoop out flesh in big chunks, and strain with your hands or with a strainer to get out as much excess liquid as possible. Discard seeds if they’re big.
3. With a fork, mash eggplant and then add tahini, lemon, 1 or 2 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt. Chop garlic very finely and add (or, better: in a mortar, crush garlic with salt, then add). Mix well. Season to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley or mint leaves. Serve at room temperature.

Soda Bread
4 cups/about 580 gr flour of your choice (I used spelt)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2 cups/500 ml soy milk
2 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp solid coconut oil, vegan butter or any light oil
extra flour for dusting

Method

1. Preheat oven to 250°C/480°F.
2. In a small bowl, stir lemon juice/vinegar in the milk and let sit for a few minutes.
3. In a bigger bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Make sure baking soda and powder are distributed evenly.
4. Cut in the oil/butter and mix with your hands. The batter will be very crumbly.
5. Pour the milk into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until combined.
6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and lightly flour it. Transfer the dough onto the tray and form a flat-topped ball (if you can). With a very sharp knife cut an X about an inch deep on the top of the dough (again, if you can).
7. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn heat down to 200°C/400°F and cook for another 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. If the bread gets a bit dry the following days, try toasting it!