Carrot and chickpea spread

The other day I was going to make a carrot dip I haven't made in ages but decided to make it a little more substantial. I was going to add tahini, the changed my mind and added chickpeas instead. Very yummy!

250 g  bunched carrots (incl. carrot tops)
carrot tops or parsley
1 440-ml-tin chickpeas
1 clove of garlic
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
toasted ground cumin
fresh lemon or lime juice

Steam the carrots until tender, then cool. Add all the ingredients apart from the herbs into a food processor or the beaker of a handheld blender and whizz. Check the seasoning. Enjoy as a spread, dip or side for steamed or roasted vegetables or fish.

Sweet Potato, Cumin and Ras-el-Hanout Spread

I don't like buying ready-made or processed foods. Instead, I look at the list of ingredients and most of the time find that I can easily recreate a product myself but without additives, preservatives etc. Of course, not all products have "bad" stuff in them such as the dips/spreads available on Saturday at the health food shop for customers to try. One was a sweet potato dip with ras-el-hanout and really tasty. When we saw the price for a 150-g-tub we checked the list of ingredients. Easy! We had all the ingredients at home. 

400-500 gsweet potato
1/2 can chickpeas
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ras-el-hanout
sea salt
black pepper
juice of one lemon
good glug of olive oil

Cut a sweet potato lengthways, drizzle a little EVO into a roasting tray and roast for about 45 minutes at 200 °C/gas mark 6 until soft. Scoop out the flesh and leave to cool. Then season with pepper, salt, toasted ground cumin and ras-el-hanout. Add crushed garlic,  drained chickpeas, lemon juice and EVO. Blend, check the seasoning and enjoy.

Carrot and Carrot Top Pesto

While I've used a small amount of feathery green carrot leaves when making stock I've often wondered if I could use them in larger quantities in other ways, such as pesto and salads. Last week, I bought some bunched carrots with the intention of making either one of these carrot pesto recipes. The tops were so fresh, I had to explore how they could be used and my fellow foodies in a Facebook group confirmed that it is indeed a very tasty herb and came up with all sorts of suggestions. While intending to still go ahead with my original pesto idea and intending to turn the leaves into a thick herb oil I changed my mind halfway through the preparation. The result is stunning. As I didn't loosen the pesto too much it's thick and creamy and will make a great sandwich spread. Next time, I buy bunched carrots I'll make carrot top pesto.

500 g bunched carrots, including the carrot tops/leaves

50 g fresh Parmesan

1 handful of hazelnuts

3 garlic cloves

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

extra virgin olive,  as required

Cut the leaves off the carrots and trim off the stems from below the bottommost feathery leaf. Top and tail, then peel the carrots and slice them into 5 mm thick slices. Bring a pan with about an inch of water to the boil. Steam the carrots for 10-12 minutes until they are just tender.

Coarsely chop the carrot tops and place into a food processor along with all the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Add a generous amount of olive oil and process to a paste adding more olive oil until the desired consistency has been reached. Check the seasoning, then put in the fridge until ready to use. If you're not eating all the carrot pesto over the next day or two, transfer into a sterilised screw top jar and top with olive oil to seal. This wy, it should keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Hummus with Cumin, Paprika and Fresh Coriander

There already is a basic hummus recipe in this blog but I do like this version so much I decided it deserved its own entry.

1 440 ml tin of chickpeas in water
3-4 tbsp tahini
juice of a lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground toasted cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 garlic clove, squeezed through a garlic press

Drain the chickpeas but catch the liquor. You'll need about one-third of it to ensure the hummus is creamy rather than dry.

Place all the ingredients into the beaker that comes with your hand blender or into the food processor. Whizz and check the flavour.

Carrot Pesto

As you can see here, here and here, I obviously love pesto with all different sorts of ingredients. For a complete list, please enter 'pesto' in the Search box of my blog. For some time now, I've wanted to try out a carrot pesto. My other half brought more of the lovely local yellow carrots back and since they taste like 'real' carrots I finally did it. Tastes great not just with pasta but also with unpeeled boiled potatoes and is great as a dip or sandwich spread.

500 g carrots
1 pointed red pepper
2 garlic cloves
2 small handfuls of (toasted) hazelnuts
50-75 g freshly grated parmesan
sea sal
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp cumin
extra virgin olive oil

Half the pepper lengthways and core. Place under a hot grill until the skin starts to blacken. Transfer into a plastic bow and put the lid on. A plastic freezer bag works as well.

Meanwhile peel the carrots and slice them into 2 mm thick slices. Bring a pan with about an inch of water to the boil. Steam the carrots for 10-12 minutes until they are just tender.

Coarsely chop the nuts or grind them in a food processor. Place all the ingredients into a food processor or the beaker of a handheld blender and whizz.

Variation:
1 kg of (yellow) carrots
80 g unpeeled almonds
juice of 2 limes
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp toasted cumin
75 g parmesan
pepper
salt
extra virgin olive oil
30 g fresh coriander

Prepare as above using as much olive oil as you think it needs. Make the pesto Wash, spin and chop the coriander. Add to the pesto and whizz for a couple more minutes.

Because of the lime juice and lack of sweet peppers this is a much lighter pesto that's also great as a sandwich spread or with crackers.

Aubergine and Sundried Tomato Dip

Today, I really needed to use up two aubergines I bought last week and decided on a baba ganoush. Only, I had no tahini in the house. After raking through the food cupboard to find something to thicken the dip with – I like using this kind of thing as a spread – I spotted a pouch of sundried tomatoes. These are soft but don't have any oil on them, other than what's needed to separate them, a bit like raisins. The result is really tasty. Will have to do this again. If you don't have this type of sundried tomatoes to hand just use the ones in oil and don't add any oil to the dip until it's been blended and you know if it needs more oil

2 aubergines
juice of 1/2 lemon
5-6 sundried tomatoes
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp toasted, ground cumin
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Pierce the aubergines all over with a fork and roast in the oven at 220° C/ gas mark 7 for 90 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and leave to cool.

Combine all the ingredients and blend. Check the seasoning. Serve sprinkled with some chopped herbs, e. g. basil, coriander.

Avodcado and Strawberry Dip

I'm not sure why but I'm crazy about strawberries this year. I've served them with roasted asparagus and scattered them over spaghetti with pesto. After slicing some over mashed avocado I wondered if I could blend the two together and the experiment worked, even though the colour is a bit insipid. You can really taste the strawberries. For my next experiment, I'm going to make a dessert of avocado and strawberries. Watch this space.

1 large, very ripe avocado
125 g straberries
2 tbsp Greek-style yoghurt
2 tsp parseley-and-lime oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed
lime juice to taste
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Chill for an hour to firm up. Use as a dip or spread on toast, crisp bread or crackers.

Hot Soured Cream Dip

A friend of mine told me yesterday about the tomato butter he makes and when I found today that I'd run out of harissa to mix into some soured cream, I fell back on his recipe.

150 ml soured cream or crème fraîche
1 heaped tbs tomato puree
tabasco
1 clove of garlic, crushed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Mix and spread on crisp bread, serve with crudités, roast root vegetables, fish, barbecued meat, and and and :)

Harissa Dip

150 ml soured cream, crème fraîche or Greek yoghurt
1-2 tsp harissa

Mix and enjoy. This is great as a dip, on crisp bread or crackers, in soup, with steamed vegetables, roast vegetables, roast chicken, couscous....

Soured Cream and Dill Dip

The salad dressing for this salad was so good I converted it into a dip/sauce to be served with bread, crudités, meat, fish, roasted and BBQ'd vegetables. And it takes only a couple of minutes to prepare.

150 ml soured cream
1 heaped tsp German mustard
1 bunch fresh Dill
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Tsatsiki

I love this Greek dip with roasting trays, fish, potatoes as it's fresh and light and so very tasty.


300ml Greek or ordinary natural yoghurt
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

freshly ground pepper
sea salt
cucumber, skinned, deseeded and coarsely grated

1. Place the grated cucumber in a sieve to drain of as much of the liquid as possible. Leave for about 15-20 minutes. After that, transfer onto a clean tea towel and squeeze out any remaining liquid.

2. Meanwhile, mix the yoghurt, garlic, pepper and salt and stick in the fridge.

3. Stir the cucumber into the yoghurt and either chill until ready to serve or serve immediately.

Baba Ghanoush

This makes about 400-450ml of Babaganoush, depending on the size of the aubergines.

2 aubergines
1tsp freshly ground cumin
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
freshly chopped coriander, optional

1. Pierce the aubergines all over with a fork (to prevent them from exploding) and place in a very hot oven (top setting) for 90 minutes.

2. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. You may split them in half to speed up the cooling process but be very careful as the aubergines are extremely hot.

3. Once cold, split the aubergines in half, scoop out the flesh and transfer into a food processor or the beaker of a hand-held blender.

4. Add all the other ingredients, except the fresh coriander, and purée. Mix in the coriander if used.



Variation:
Use freshly ground coriander seeds instead of cumin. I think that's what is normally used but I prefer it with cumin.

Mushroom Pâté

500g mushrooms, ideally large flat Portobello mushrooms, chopped roughly
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
a little freshly squeezed lemon juice
a few drops of Tabasco (optional)
100ml crème fraîche/Philadelphia or natural yoghurt

1. Sauté the mushrooms in a little olive oil until brown but still fry. Transfer onto a plate lined with paper towel and leave to cool.

2. Blend all the ingredients incl. seasoning in a food processor or hand held blender. Transfer into a bowl and chill.

Serve with crusty bread, crackers/oat cakes or crudités.

Note: If using yoghurt, the pâté will remain more runny.

Smoked Mackerel Pâté

200g smoked mackerel, skin removed and roughly broken up
2-3tbsp/75 ml natural yoghurt
freshly ground black pepper
a few drops of Tabasco
1 garlic clove, crushed
juice of 1/2 lemon

Put all the ingredient into a food processor or whizz up with a hand-held blender. Chill for 1-2 hours to set. Serve with crudités, hot toast/toasted baguette slices, oatcakes, fresh bread/baguette - whatever takes your fancy.

A great starter or amuse-gueule to get dinner party guests' mouths watering. I also have it for lunch on some chunky home baked bread.

Carrot Dip

As a pescatarian, I just love things like hummus so watch out for some lovely recipes for spreads, patés and dips over the next few weeks. I used call this one a mousse although it really is not a mousse as there is nothing to make it fluffy but it's not thick enough for a spread (though I eat it on bread for my lunch) or paté and so much more than a dip. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow!

Update February 2018: I have finally turned this into a mousse! You could whip up 3-4 of egg whites and fold them in but if you don't have any use for the egg whites that's not going to happen, is it? Well, I've discovered aquafaba, the liquor from tinned pulses (you can also make your own but since there are just two of us I prefer to use tins), which can be beaten into stiff peaks that don't taste "beany" and can be used instead of egg whites. So, if you want to turn the recipe below into an mousse, beat the liquor of a 400-g-tin of any pulses (approx. 120-150 ml) into stiff peaks and fold them into the cooled down carrot puree.

1kg carrots, peeled and cut into 2-3cm long pieces
1tsp freshly ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, crushed
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Cook the carrots in as little water as possible with pepper and salt until soft. I managed to have less than a tablespoon of liquid left, tonight ;) Drain and leave to cool.

2. Put all the ingredients into a food processor or beaker for a hand-held blender and purer.

Serve with crudités, on bread, steamed or roasted veg, even fish. Delish!

Lentil Paté

440ml tin organic lentils (no added salt or sugar), drained and rinsed
freshly ground pepper
salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
4tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or oil from sundried tomatoes)
4-6 sundried tomatoes, chopped
1tbsp balsamic vinegar


1. Set aside 1/3-1/2 of the lentils.

2. Put remaining lentils and all the other ingredients apart from the spinach in a beaker and purer.

3. Using a fork, mix in the whole lentils and spinach if used.

Variations:
1. Substitute the lentils with a can of mixed beans.
2. Once, blended, fold in a couple of tablespoons of chopped, steamed, fresh baby spinach ensuring that most of the liquid has been squeezed out.
3. Instead of tinned lentils, use a similar quantity of cooked puy lentils.

Hummus

440ml tin of (organic) chick peas (no added salt or sugar), drained
2tbsp of the liquid from the can (optional for a creamier consistency)
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2tsp tahini
freshly ground black pepper
salt
juice of a lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed

Put all the ingredients into a beaker and blend with a handheld blender. To serve, sprinkle with some paprika or freshly chopped herbs.

Variations:
1. Leave out the tahini and use 4tbsp olive oil instead.
2. Keep 1-2tbsp chick peas aside, roughly mash with a fork or chop and add to the blend.
3. Blend in 1-2 roasted red peppers, either home-made ones or out of a jar.
4. Chop some fresh herbs, e.g. coriander or even rocket, and mix them in at the end.
5. Use other pulses, e.g. borlotti beans, cannellini beans, mixed beans, black-eyed beans etc.  Beans are creamier than chickpeas, therefore no liquor needs to be added. I also like to rinse them under water to remove the thick liquor they're tinned in.