Welcome to my series of dips and meze, where I’ll be sharing three recipes that are great for Ramadan or any time as a starter. They are absolutely delicious, and I hope you give them a try. Meze, or mezze, means small dishes served as appetizers across the Levant and parts of Europe. We’re starting with shamandar, or beet, meze.
Ingredients
- 3 red beets + 4 golden beets
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup tahini + 1 tbs.
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbs. Honey
- Salt to taste
- Juice of 1/2 orange
- 1/4 cup walnuts chopped fine
- Whole walnuts and dill for garnish
- Olive oil to drizzle
Instructions
- I like to mix my beets since the red are very strong in taste and the yellow ones are milder and sweeter.
- Trim the beets from both ends and wash the beets a few times while scrubbing to get rid of the dirt.
- In a pot place the beets add enough water to cover, place a lid on and bring to a boil once it bubbles bring down the heat to low and cook gently until you can poke a fork in it. Let cool.
- Using a cheese grater on the coarse side grate the beets. Add yogurt, tahini, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of honey and salt and stir well.
- After tasting I decided that I needed another tablespoon of tahini (let your taste buds be your judge sometimes you need more sometimes less depending on the size of the beets) add the juice of 1/2 orange and give it a stir so all the tahini is incorporated in.
- I like to add the walnuts last. Stir well and let stand for 10 minutes so the flavors can develop.
- Present in a serving platter garnish with whole 1/4 cup of walnuts, fresh dill and olive oil.
- Enjoy next to pita bread.