You are here: Home > dips
Archive | dips RSS feed for this section

Guacamole

On November 25, 2011 in allergy-free, celiac, cooking, dairy-free, dips, entertaining, food, food sensitivities, gluten-free, healthy recipes, raw food, snacks, vegetarian, wheat-free

Some things are best made from scratch. Like dips, for example. Apart from the frozen meals in aisle eight at the supermarket, packaged dips are the worst $4.95 you’ll ever spend. Like that extra vodka, lime and soda at the end of a big night, throwing a couple of tubs of dip in your trolley always seems like a good idea at the time. I challenge you to step away from the dip section during your next trip to the shops and whip up your own instead. It will save your wallet and your taste buds.

As far as dips go, guacamole gets my vote. It’s a cinch to make, it’s healthy and it happens to be my favourite colour (green). It’s versatile too – you can serve it with crudites, add it to nachos or team it with smoked salmon, tomatoes and cracked pepper for a light lunch. Like watermelon and mangoes, guacamole congers up feelings of summer and good times spent with friends. It’s one of those foolproof dips that you could probably make with my eyes shut if you had to, but try making it with your eyes open if you can.

guacamole

Goes down a treat with crudites

Guacamole

Makes a couple of cups worth.

Ingredients:

2 large ripe avocados, halved, stones removed and peeled
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed (you can omit this if you don’t like the taste of raw garlic)
1 vine-ripened tomato, diced
1 red chilli, finely chopped (the smaller the chilli, the fiercer the heat)
1 tbs olive oil
1 handful chopped coriander leaves
paprika sprinkled on top and a drizzle of olive oil

Method:

Place avocado and lemon juice in a large bowl and mash with a fork. You can mash it until it’s completely smooth, but I like to leave some texture in it.

Add the red onion, garlic, tomato, chilli and olive oil and stir with a spoon until combined.

Season with sea salt and cracked pepper, a sprinkle of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serving suggestion:

Spoon into serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika. Serve with crudites, such as radishes, carrots and cucumbers.

Notes:

  • The guacamole is best eaten fresh, but will keep for up to a day in the fridge.
  • Lightly press the top of the avocados to test if they’re ripe.
  • Avocados turn brown unless you sprinkle them with lemon or lime juice.

If you’re in the mood for snacking, here’s some more yummy dip recipes.

Read full story · Comments { 3 }

Broad bean hummus

On September 25, 2011 in celiac, cooking, dairy-free, dips, food, food sensitivities, garlic, gluten-free, healthy recipes, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, hummus, lunch, recipes, seasonal, snacks, wheat-free

Who’s your favourite chef? Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is fast becoming one of mine. He wasn’t on my radar until Paul introduced me to his cookbooks last year. His food philosophy is all about respecting the ingredients and sourcing the best possible produce. Hugh’s cookbook ‘River Cottage Every Day’ never fails to inspire me. I’m yet to get my hands on the TV series of the same name – I’ve heard it’s brilliant.

Broad bean hummus

Broad bean hummus

Today’s recipe comes from ‘River Cottage Every Day’. It’s a delicious broad bean hummus that won’t disappoint. With broad beans in season at the moment here in Australia, now is the perfect time to grab a couple of handfuls when you’re next at the grocer and whip them into a gorgeous, green, garlicky dip. That’s what Paul and I did yesterday. It took about 30 mins from start to finish and even less time for us to polish it off with some homemade tomato salsa, a couple of slices of ham, some marinated goat’s cheese and some homemade gluten-free seed bread. What a great lunch!

The hummus was the most verdant green colour – so green in fact that it could be mistaken for guacamole. Only problem was a severe case of garlic breath that plagued us Paul and I (and anyone who came into close proximity to us) for the rest of the day. We sprinkled the dip with lashings of cracked pepper and smoked paprika.

Without further ado, here’s Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s broad bean hummus.

So tell me, who’s your favourite chef and why?

Read full story · Comments { 2 }

Dips

On October 29, 2010 in celiac, dairy-free, dips, healthy recipes, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, recipes, snacks, tomatoes, vegetarian, wheat-free

This dip trio consists of three dips that have been previously featured on Food Crush - very lemony hummus, roasted eggplant dip and a tomato salsa with mint and capers. These three work beautifully as a team – the vibrancy of the tomatoes nicely complementing the subtle tones of the hummus and roasted eggplant.

Eggplant dip, hummus and salsa.

Eggplant dip, hummus and salsa.

To wow your guests, try serving the dips in white ramekins and place them on a long white platter surrounded by crudites and toasted lavosh bread. It’s a great way to get the party started.

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Eggplant dip

On October 21, 2010 in celiac, dairy-free, dips, garlic, gluten-free, healthy recipes, recipes, snacks, vegetarian, wheat-free

I have a confession. Dip is my weakness. I eat it nearly every day, either smothered on a sandwich or oozing off a cracker (or carrot stick, if I’m feeling virtuous). You can’t really blame me for my dip fetish. Dips are as versatile as they are delectable, and great for whetting one’s appetite before a meal. Granted, their moorish natures makes them very easy to polish off, so try to show some restraint and save room for your main meal if you can!

Eggplant dip

Full of garlicky goodness!

Garlic lovers will go nuts over this eggplant dip. I’m tempted to rename it, ‘Roasted Garlic Dip’ given its garlicky goodness. The ingredients resemble those of Baba Ghanoush – a Middle Eastern dip that’s similar to hummus, but is made with eggplant instead of chickpeas.

I recommend adding a sprinkle of ground roasted cumin for extra flavour. Serve with toasted lavash bread sprinkled with rock salt (or rice crackers if you’re wheat/gluten- sensitive). And be sure to clean your teeth or chew some parsley stems afterwards to help sort out the garlic breath!

Here’s the eggplant dip recipe from Taste.

Read full story · Comments { 2 }

Salsa

On October 19, 2010 in celiac, dairy-free, dips, gluten-free, healthy recipes, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, recipes, snacks, spicy, spicy food, tomatoes, vegetarian, wheat-free

Today, I’d like to take my hat off to salsa. It is the kitchen’s equivalent to the little black dress – it’s versatile, looks great and never goes out of fashion. You can serve it as a dip, throw it on some brushetta, dress it up as a side dish or serve it as a salad.

Salsa

Salsa goes nicely with barbecued meats or topped on grilled sourdough or ciabatta.

Salsa’s virtues don’t stop at its versatility. It also happens to be a cinch to make. Let’s face it, it’s hard to stuff this one up. The trick is buying good-quality tomatoes (not those dodgy half-ripe ones at your supermarket). Spend the extra cash and find some vine-ripened tomatoes that an Italian wouldn’t turn their nose up at.

For this tomato salsa, I went with cherry tomatoes, but only because that’s all I had in the fridge. For those of you who don’t like capers, you can leave them out. If you want to serve this as a salad, just cut the tomatoes a little bit thicker and Bob’s your uncle.

Recipe adapted from the wonderful Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall:
Serves 4

Ingredients:
500g ripe, tasty tomatoes
1/2 small red onion, very finely chopped
1-2 tbs capers, rinsed
a small squeeze of lemon juice
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of sugar
a few torn mint or basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Cut the tomatoes into quarters, then halve each quarter widthways.

Place in a bowl and lightly stir in the onion and capers.

Put the lemon juice and oil in a small jug or bottle, season well and add the sugar. Whisk together (or shake it together), then trickle over the tomatoes. Scatter over the torn mint or basil leave and serve with some grilled sourdough bread (or rice crackers if you’re wheat/gluten sensitive like me). Yum!

Read full story · Comments { 2 }