Quick spicy tomato dip
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3 large ripe tomatoes – roughly chopped
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¼ cup olive oil
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1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
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garlic cloves – crushed
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dash tabasco sauce – adjust to taste
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salt/pepper
Puree all ingredients in a processor or hand blender. Season to taste. Serve with fresh vegetable crudities or crispy vegetable chips.
Hummus
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1 tin chickpeas – rinsed and drained
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2 garlic cloves – crushed
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1 tablespoon tahini
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olive oil
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1 lemon – juiced
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2 spring onions or shallots – finely chopped
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1 teaspoon paprika
Process the chickpeas and garlic with a blender. Add tahini, olive oil and lemon juice and a little water if required, and continue to blend. Stir in spring onions and season. To serve, sprinkle with a little paprika and a swirl of olive oil.
Baba ghanouj
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1 large eggplant – grilled/roasted
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3 garlic cloves – crushed
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½ cup tahini
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2 tablespoons olive oil
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¼ teaspoon tabasco (optional)
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¼ teaspoon ground cumin
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sprig of continental parsley (to serve)
The secret to making a great baba ghanouj is to grill the eggplant to impart the important “smoky” flavour to it. You can do this by holding it to a gas flame, in the barbecue, under a grill or in the oven. The skin should be blackened, blistered and charred by whatever process you use. Wash eggplant and prick the skin several times with a fork. Roast the eggplant by either holding over a gas flame (turning to ensure it is grilled evenly all over, about 10 – 15 minutes) or place under a medium grill (turning frequently, about 10 - 15 minutes), now that the skin has been charred the flesh should also have softened. If not, put in an oven for a further 10 minutes to cook the flesh. The easiest method to roast and grill the eggplant in 1 process is to simply bake it in the oven for around 25 – 30 minutes (place on foil lined baking tray, turn occasionally.) Set aside and let cool slightly. Peel off skin carefully. Scoop eggplant into a bowl and mash with a fork into a paste. Add other ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve in a bowl with a little parsley sprinkled on top.
Cannellini bean dip
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1 tin cannellini beans – rinsed and drained
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2 cloves garlic – crushed
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2 tablespoons lemon juice
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¼ cup olive oil
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½ cup continental parsley – roughly chopped
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1 teaspoon dried oregano
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salt/pepper
Put all ingredients in a bowl and process with a hand blender, or mash with a fork, until coarsely combined. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Beetroot dip
- 1 tin baby beetroot – drained and roughly chopped into smaller pieces
- 1 cup greek style yoghurt
- 2 garlic cloves – crushed
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt/pepper to taste
Put all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Season to taste.
Note: an alternative to this method is to process all the ingredients in a blender to a slightly rough consistency.
Black olive dip
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400 grams good quality pitted black olives
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2 tablespoons capers
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2 cloves garlic – crushed
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1/3 cup virgin olive oil
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4 anchovies
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4 tablespoons semi dried tomatoes – chopped
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1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme leave
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Salt/pepper
Combine all ingredients in a blender except the tomatoes. Pulse to form a slightly chunky paste. Fold in the tomatoes and season to taste. Will last for a month in the fridge in an air tight container with surface covered in a thin layer of olive oil.
Vegetable crisps
- 3 parsnips
- 1 large sweet potato
- 2 large potatoes
- 2 large beetroot
Wash, trim and remove vegetable skins. Using a peeler, peel the vegetables into strips. Alternatively, slice into very thin slices using a mandolin slicer. Place pieces on to a foil lined baking tray. Spray lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in a hot oven for about 30 minutes or until crispy (check after about 15 minutes.) Note – beetroot may take a little longer to cook.