Have a look at our post on why we love dips so much and why dips are great for kids. Harry has a real sweet spot for beetroot, and combined with the nuts this makes a really sweet and satisfying dip. He loves it particularly with carrot sticks. It does have a vibrant colour and does stain though, so you will need to watch the littlies when serving this one.

Nutrition Note: Pine nuts are a nutritious addition to many dips and pestos. They contain a wide variety of nutrients including iron and zinc as well as health promoting antioxidants and are a rich source of unsaturated (the healthy kind) fatty acids.

Ingredients

• 1 large beetroot, remove leaves and trim roots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 50g pine nuts
• 50g cashew nuts
• 25g fresh ricotta
• 25g greek yoghurt

Method

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180. Place beetroot and garlic into a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the garlic. Continue baking the beetroot until soft when you insert a skewer. -

Step 2

Place the pine nuts into the oven and toast for around 5 minutes (watch them as they burn really quickly!). -

Step 3

Run the beetroot under cold water and gently remove the skin (it should come away quite easily and the running water should keep from staining your hands). -

Step 4

Place the beetroot in a food processor and blitz until smooth or to your liking. Add the flesh from the garlic, the nuts, ricotta and yoghurt. Process until smooth. -

Step 5

This dip will last 2-3 days in the fridge. -