Dippity do da

The days here of late, have been just magic. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather on the weekend, this is what we ate for lunch on Sunday. Served along side little homemade sausages grilled on the barbecue, it was the perfect dip plate for autumn days.

Find some sun, grab some friends and maybe a bottle of wine.

Hommus

makes 1 1/2 cups

• 1 x 400 gram tin chickpeas
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 2 tablespoon tahini
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoon water
salt and pepper  

to serve

• extra virgin olive oil 
• ground cumin

Mix all of the hommus ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer into a serving dish, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the cumin. Serve with pita bread.

This recipe is from the fantastic "River Cottage Veg" cookbook. I have made it four times in as many weeks, it has been a hit with friends and family alike. 

Beetroot and Walnut Hommus

makes 1 1/2 cups

• 50 grams walnuts (toasted)
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (toasted and crushed)
• 15 grams stale bread (crusts removed and torn into chunks)
• 200 grams beetroot (cooked and cut into cubes)
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• salt and pepper

Mix all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Transfer into a serving dish and serve.

I have been making this bean dip for years, very quick and easy. Perfect for last minute entertaining. Perfect on hot summers days.

Italian Bean Dip
 
makes 1 1/2 cups

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1/3 cup mint (chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 x 400 gram tin of cannellini beans (drained)
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a small frying pan. Fry the garlic and cumin for just under a minute. In a food processor put the garlic mixture as well as the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Add the extra tablespoon of lemon juice if needed. Transfer to a serving dish and serve.

This is another recipe that I have been making for a while, a Libyan-Jewish recipe, adapted slightly from a Jewish cookbook I got from the library many years ago. I hadn't made this for years but remembered it well. It takes a little more time, but believe me, it is well worth the effort. Yummy.

Spicy Pumpkin Dip

makes 1 1/2 cups

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion (finely diced)
• 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 350 grams pumpkin (finely diced)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garam marsala
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chilli
• salt and pepper
• 1 small tomato (diced)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• pinch of sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
 
to serve

• 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (roughly chopped)

Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently saute the onion and half of the garlic. Add the pumpkin and cover. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is almost tender. Add the spices and chilli to the pan and cook for 2 minutes more. Season to taste.  Stir in the tomato, tomato paste and sugar and increase the heat to medium high. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and the pumpkin is tender. This takes about 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in the remaining garlic and lemon juice. Transfer to a serving dish and allow to cool to room temperature to serve. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve.