We try and skin all our chickpeas at the retreat, this gets rid of the cellulose under the skin that some people can have trouble digesting.

A quick method to remove the majority of the skins is to scald the chickpeas in hot water, let cool slightly then rub them together in you hands, this should release most of the skins. Alternatively pop the chickpeas out of there skins one by one. Once you have skinned the chickpeas get rid of any remaining cellulose by scalding them with boiling water.

Removing the skins makes a much creamier hummus so is worth the effort especially if your gut agrees.

For the beetroot hummus we us a whole roasted beetroot, you can roast a few of these at once, they are great in salads and we use some in our meat free dishes. Once cooled they will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Chickpeas, lemon and cooked beetroot

To make the Beetroot Hummus:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C (180C Fan). Wrap the beetroot in foil then place in hot oven, bake for 30-45 mins or until beetroot is soft. Leave to cool.
2. If peeling the chickpeas do that first, just remember to rinse with boiling water afterwards.
3. Zest half the lemon and juice half.
4.  Peel the beetroot and chop into chunks that will fit in your food processor.
5. Blitz all the ingredients in the food processor reserving 1 tbsp of water.
6. Stop the motor, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and taste the hummus to see if any seasoning needs adjusting. To make a smoother hummus add the other tbsp of water and mix for longer. The longer it mixes will add more air to the hummus making it light, creamy and smooth.

Eat the beetroot hummus with crudites as an afternoon snack or as part of a lunch dish. On retreat we have it in our Kale, Beetroot Hummus and Lentil Salad.