Dips and Crudites
Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
1lb(450g) tomatoes, finely chopped
half a medium onion finely chopped
1tspn cayenne pepper or chilli powder, or use a finely chopped fresh one
1tspn coriander powder
1tspn salt
generous dash of lime juice
1tbspn olive oil
fresh coriander to garnish
splash of soy sauce
Method
Just mix the lot together, then garnish. Best left to stand before serving.
Hummus
Ingredients:
2 tins chickpeas
4 generous tbspn tahini (sesame paste)
3-5 cloves of garlic
Juice of 2 lemons
3 tbspn good quality olive oil
Method:
1. place tinned chickpeas in a blender, blend for a good minute or so until you get a smooth pulp, then add the garlic,olive oil and tahini.
2. Add the lemon juice a little at a time until it tastes just right for you. Blend again. Serve with a little more olive oil drizzled on top and dust with paprika.
Tzatziki
Ingredients:
¼ cucumber finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbspn fresh mint chopped, or 1 tspn dried mint
250g soya yoghurt (Yofu)
A dash of lemon juice
Method:
Combine all the ingredients and serve chilled
Baba Ganouj (aubergine dip)
Ingredients:
2 large aubergines
Juice of 2 lemons
2 ½ tbspn tahini (sesame paste)
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
salt
tbspn olive oil
Method:
1. Pierce the aubergines several times with a sharp knife. Bake at 190 C/gas Mark 5 for 40 minutes. Set aside to cool for 30 min.
2. Chop. Blend in a food processor. Add lemon juice, tahini and garlic. Season with salt.
3. Spoon into a serving dish, cover and chill.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and drizzle olive oil over the top , if liked.
Guacamole
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 tbspn olive oil
1 tbspn lemon juice
handful of fresh, chopped coriander
1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
pinch of salt
Method:
1. Cut the avocado in half length ways all the way round the stone and then twist the two halves apart. Remove the stone by holding the avocado half in one hand and a sharp knife in the other. Whack the side of the knife into the stone and wiggle the stone out.
2. Peel the skin back and chop the avocado flesh into medium sized chunks
3. Place the avocado in a bowl, add the lemon juice and mash with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients and stir well. Chill well before serving.
Crudites
Crudites are bite sized pieces of crunchy vegetables that are great to eat dips with!
Try, sticks of celery, carrot, cucumber, pepper and florets of cauliflower and broccoli, mange tout. Tortilla chips or crisps are good too.