Dips are something I love to keep on hand to serve up on a platter for a shared lunch, pack in lunchboxes or trot out for an after school snack. All of these recipes are also served to accompany a few drinks with friends.
There are obviously a wide variety available on the shelves of your supermarket fridge, or from your local continental store but they can be expensive and the ones at the supermarket are often full of all sorts of fillers.
Homemade dips are quick and easy and you can make a bucketload for the same price as you pay for a single tub, not to mention you know exactly what has gone in to them!
They are pictured here with some brown rice crackers and veggie sticks but I am really looking forward to having a go at making my own raw crackers this weekend!
Superfresh Salsa - Makes about 1L
Right now Tomatoes are at their peak so it is the perfect time to whizz up batches of this amazing salsa, it doesn't have that gloopy texture like the stuff in jars does, it's runny and perfect for digging into with corn chips. These days I buy the Macro Organic original flavour ones.
Feel free to adjust the jalepeno factor to your taste or use fresh instead of pickled chillies.
Ingredients
1kg ripe red tomatoes, washed and quartered
1 bunch coriander
1 bunch spring onions/scallions/shallots
2-3 Tbs pickled jalepenos or more/less/different chilli to taste
Method
Throw everything into a blender or food processor and pulse until you have a beautiful salsa consistency.
Besides dipping you can serve this salsa with grilled chicken or fish, dress a salad with it or serve it with any mexican style fare.
Beetroot, Yoghurt & Mint Dip - Makes about 3 cups
You could make this dip with a tin of baby beetroot but right now there are plenty of fresh beetroot around so why not just make it with the real thing.
Ingredients
2 large beetroot
1 cup greek yoghurt
Leaves from 1/3-1/2 bunch mint
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Cut the beetroot in half and steam until tender, peel if you want to then throw into your blender or food processor with the other ingredients and pulse until it comes together at dipping consistency
Other things you could add to vary the taste a bit are the juice from a lemon, ground coriander or cumin or even some sumac would be lovely.
My kids love it. Besides spooned into little containers for the lunchbox it is excellent dolloped on chicken or steak or used to top off a warm salad of chicken and veggies.
The green dip you can spy here is Paleo Spinach Hummus as created by My Food Religion. It is lovely spread on rye sourdough and topped off with tomatoes.
I have used it happily interchangably with ordinary chickpea hummus since making a batch the other weekend. Not all of my kids love hummus at the best of times but the ones who do like it have enjoyed this variation.
My tummy has become a bit intolerant of chickpeas so I welcomed a version of something I love that didn't leave me with potential belly pain!
Try adding it to a sandwich or wrap or dolloping it on lamb for a greek inspired dinner.
Last, but certainly not least we have something that is perhaps a little more adult. There are so many nut based dips on the shelves but they are typically overloaded with highly processed oils and other filler ingredients.
My kids are perfectly accustomed to the flavours in it and loved it but because of the nuts not all schools will find it acceptable in a lunchbox, however you can replace the nuts with pepitas and leave off the dried chilli to make it completely child friendly.
Spicy Pumpkin, Coriander & Macadamia dip - Makes a good 2 cups
Ingredients
600g Japanese/Kent pumpkin, deseeded, peeled and cut into wedges
150g macadamia nuts, cashews, almonds or even peanuts would all make excellent subtitutions
1/2 bunch coriander, washed and roughly chopped
Drizzle olive oil or coconut oil + extra for storage
1 tsp or so dried chilli
Method
Heat your oven to 190C
Pop your pumpkin onto a baking paper lined tray, drizzle with olive oil or rub with coconut oil then sprinkle on the chilli flakes
Roast until tender
Blitz the cooled pumpkin with the nuts and coriander
Add a bit of oil if you are going to be storing it to stop it drying out
So, go on and get dippy!
Tatum xx
