To start, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

In separate pieces of aluminum foil wrap the beets and garlic. Place the two on a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes or so. At this point, check the garlic to see if it is ready. When done it should be soft all the way through. Once done, remove from the oven and let cool while the beets continue to roast. The beets will likely take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on how big there are and how hot your oven is. Carefully test the beets with a paring knife, if it goes in easily and the beets are soft all the way through, they are done.

Allow the beets to cool and then peel off the skin. Also, remove the skins from the garlic.

Alternatively, the beets can be steamed or boiled, the roasting of the beets (and the garlic) just adds another layer of flavor to the hummus.

Once the beets have been peeled, cut them into large pieces.

Lastly, gather the remaining ingredients.

Note: For the chickpeas, we recommend cooking your own that way you can save some of the flavorful cooking liquid, which can be used to thin out the hummus, if needed. Also, cooking your own means that you can add a bit of baking soda, like in this Hummus Recipe, which will result in a smoother hummus.

That being said, canned chickpeas will still totally work for this recipe.

To make the hummus, add the chickpeas, tahini, cumin, salt and roasted garlic to a food processor and pulse a few times—then add the lemon juice and continue to blend until smooth.

If the mixture seems too thick, add a bit of the cooking liquid from the chickpeas (or water and/or olive oil) to thin the mixture out a bit.

Next, add the roasted beets and blend until smooth.

At this point, you can stop and finish the hummus, without adding any oil; however, the oil does add nice flavor and silkiness to the hummus. If adding the olive oil—with the machine running—slowly drizzle in the oil.

Once the hummus is nice and smooth and creamy, which can take several minutes depending on your mixer, stop and taste for seasoning.

If desired/needed, add a bit of vinegar, a bit more lemon juice, cumin and/or salt to the hummus.

To finish the hummus, drizzle with a bit of olive oil (if using) and then garnish with the toasted pine nuts, parsley and a bit of finishing salt.

Use this sauce as you would regular hummus. This just adds a slightly different flavor profile and a beautiful vibrant color to dishes as well. Try it the next time you make Falafels.