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Marvelous Mutabal Shawandar

When I go to my friend Fatema’s house, she often serves me this beautiful and delicious dip called mutabal shawandar.

It’s a bit of a marvel to me, because I don’t really like beets, and this dip is packed with beets.

It is also this irresistible bright pinkish red color and creamy and redolent of garlic.

Some recipes for this traditional Syrian dish call for the beets to be chopped up in a food processor or high speed blender. But Fatema and I prefer the beets coarsely grated, giving the dip a more interesting consistency.

I recently made it at home, using as a basis a recipe from The Kitchn by Megan Gordon. I made a few changes, based on what I had in the fridge and based on what I like. Gordon uses a food processor. I used a box grater, big holes. She used sour cream. I used cashew yogurt, because that’s what I had. Also, I grated the garlic on a microplane zester, giving the dip a more intense, garlickly flavor. I upped the lemon, and used the lemon zest, because I love lemon. Fatema sometimes uses pomegranate molasses, about a tablespoon, instead of or in addition to the lemon.

You can boil the beets, which takes less time than roasting. But it also leaches out some of the beautiful red color, and I think, doesn’t concentrate the sugars as much as roasting them. So roast them if you have time. After I made my first batch of beets, I read that you can cut them up into wedges and then roast them, cutting down on the time (to 25 to 30 minutes from an hour), and creating more surfaces for the caramelization, so I will try that next time.

This dip is best served with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a pile of just-warm pita bread.

Marvelous Mutabal Shawandar

Adapted from a recipe by Megan Gorden

for Creamy Beet & Tahini Dip on The Kitchn

Ingredients:

• 3 medium beets, about ¾ pound to 1 pound, washed, trimmed, roasted, peeled

• 2-3 small garlic cloves

• ¼-½ cup tahini

• ¼-½ cup sour cream or yogurt (regular or nut-milk based)

• 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice, and zest from lemon

• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, optional

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• freshly ground pepper

Olive oil, to serve (optional)

Pita or cut veggies or good bread or crackers, to serve

How-To

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the beets on top of a large sheet of aluminum foil and fold the edges over to create a pouch (the beets should be completely enclosed in foil). Lay pouch on top of a baking sheet to avoid any dripping onto the bottom of the oven and roast until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool. If you prefer, you can boil the beets.

While the beets are cooking, mix the tahini, sour cream or yogurt, lemon juice and zest, salt, and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Grate the garlic into this and mix again until well incorporated. Store this in the fridge until the beets are ready.

Once the beets have cooked (check to make sure they are easily pierced with a fork) and are cool enough to handle, peel the beets using your fingers and a paper towel. Discard the skins. Grate the peeled beets on a box grater, using the side with the large holes. Alternatively, cut beets into wedges and transfer to a food processor.

Add the grated beets to the tahini mixture. Mix well.

Scoop into a small serving bowl. Drizzle a spoonful or two of olive oil over the top. Serve with pita, crackers or wedges of crusty bread.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.

(Check out the original recipe at www.thekitchn.com/recipe-creamy-beet-and-tahini-dip-recipes-from-the-kitchn-188995)