Beetroot Flatbreads & Hummus with Red Cabbage Slaw and Olives

Last month I asked you all to set me a challenge on Instagram to create a Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner dish only using one colour, and for the Breakfast dish you challenged me to create something using purple ingredients and so I present to you my delicious Beetroot Flatbreads with Beetroot Hummus, Red Cabbage Slaw and Kalamata Olives. 

Now this one may sound a little strange to start with – olives… for breakfast?! But just bear with me. In Greek tradition it was very common to have olives with bread in the morning, not only are they rich in healthy fats but they are also great at stabilising your blood sugars so you can keep going right through until lunch. In all honesty, I actually really love salty or spicy foods in the morning. I don’t have an overly sweet tooth so breakfasts can be quite limiting or repetitive, so I’m always looking for a way to spice things up. It also gets you super excited and prepped for the day, because who can be grumpy when they’ve had a belly full of delicious lip-smacking food in the morning!? 

Flatbreads are kind of my speciality – I probably eat them in every meal. They’re super simple to whip up and with only a few ingredients that you are sure to have in the cupboard and are the perfect vehicle for scooping up anything and everything and transporting it to your mouth; I’ve made these ones extra special by grating in cooked beetroot to give it that gorgeously desired purple hue, before topping it with a layer of beetroot hummus that is silky smooth. I’ve added some toasted walnuts into the mixture before blending to really bring those earthy tones of the beetroot out and add in some extra oil and fat to the dish. I finished the hummus with cumin to bring a little kick and round everything together as it is blended into this incredible paste that would taste just as amazing stirred through pasta or rice dishes or smothered on a baked potato. 

Finishing the dish with a simple purple slaw made from cabbage leaves which have been combined with apple cider vinegar for a little acidity and a touch of maple syrup for some sweetness. This, combined with those beautifully plump Kalamata olives, has the perfect balance of sweet, salty and sour. The olives bring something special to the dish aside from adding in that harmonious salt. A meaty texture. These Greek olives grown in the city of Kalamata are known for having thicker flesh. More commonly known as ‘the black olive’ these drupes actually have a deep purple colour which made them the perfect addition to my all-purple breakfast. 

Layered together the dish has everything you could want. A soft fluffy flatbread that has sweet and earthy notes; hot spots of charring that brings a deeper flavour to the mix. A smooth and creamy hummus that is smothered on top, a crunchy fresh slaw for a bit of bite and then hit with the salty flesh of the olives. This is probably one of my favourite breakfasts. It’s not that much different than your standard sourdough bread and spread – it’s just been elevated a little and had a lot of purple thrown in. You can actually make the hummus the night before or batch-prep enough for a few days and then enjoy in a whole wide array of dishes. The flatbreads, too. If you pre-make them, once cooled you can wrap them up tightly and store them in the fridge or freezer and then pop them in the oven or toaster to re-heat. Just made sure to press the ‘defrost’ button on it first to ensure it is cooked all the way through. 

The flatbreads are also a really great way of sneaking some extra veggies into your or your family’s diet. The beautiful colour makes for an exciting treat and they’d have no idea there was a beetroot hidden in there. You can do this with other vegetables too. Carrots, courgette, parsnips and mushrooms too. You can grate, puree or blend them into flatbread doughs and crepe batters and then just fill or top with your favourite fillings and get an extra dose of goodness in without any of the fuss. 

Make sure to check out my other coloured dishes – an all-White Dinner and my all-Yellow Lunch. I had so much fun creating these dishes. I’m so used to packing my recipes with all the different colours of the rainbow, so I really had to get creative when it came to finding and cooking ingredients of the same colour. It’s definitely a challenge I’d love to take on again and would love to know what you would create for Breakfast if you were only allowed to use purple ingredients. Let me know in the comments or message me on Instagram or Twitter.