Beetroot hummus with gluten-free squid ink flatbread

I recently went on a long weekend jaunt to the Cotswolds, for some pretty scenery and lots of eating. The scenery soothed the spirits and the food we ate inspired this simple, colourful, gluten-free dish.

On our way to Cheltenham, we had a mini-break within our mini-break in Bristol, so we could go to Casamia, a fabulous family run restaurant with one menu that changes depending on the season. I was blown away by my dinner, particularly the freshness and zing of the tomato and whipped Mozzarella course. I will certainly be back to try autumn’s offerings, but it wasn’t Casamia, with its Michelin star, that inspired my dish. It was a quick lunch at Tom Hunt’s Eat Poco where I ate beetroot “houmous” with the most glorious sourdough I have eaten in some time. Eat Poco’s version was magenta pink and topped with oil and chopped dill.

After I’d already made my own version, I bought Hunt’s book, The Natural Cook, and found that his recipe doesn’t contain tahini or chickpeas, hence the inverted commas in “houmous”. I had decided to stick to a more traditional hummus, but with added beetroot and I was extremely pleased with the results. Although the colour isn’t quite as pure as the Eat Poco version, it is still vibrant and enticing. I decided to use smoked garlic as I had some kicking around waiting to be used and opted for chopped chives instead of dill as a garnish.

On the way back to London, we stopped off in Winchester to have lunch with friends at The Black Rat. The breadbasket arrived, along with a few lumps of coal. Or so it seemed. For these lumps of coal were, in fact, little squid ink bread rolls. Very nice they were too. There was something especially pleasing about the enormity of contrast between the jet black bread and the pale ivory butter. Hello, I thought. I’m going to make some of that when I get home. But instead of pieces of bready coal, I decided to make squid ink gluten-free flatbreads, to make scooping up the purply-pink hummus a little easier.

So, here we are. Two colourful gluten-free recipes, inspired by two very delicious and colourful holiday meals.