DELICIOUS DIPS
Veggie flavours
BEETROOT
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Wrap one medium-size beet (scrubbed and washed clean) tightly in foil and place it on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast it for about an hour until the tines of a fork slide easily into the centre of the beet. Cool it until it’s easy to handle. Process about 450g of slightly overboiled chickpeas, ⅓ cup of tahini, ¼ cup of lemon juice, ¼ cup of ricotta, a finely grated clove of garlic, a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and ¼ teaspoon of ground coriander in a food processor until it’s all smooth. Remove the beetroot skin, trim the root end and cut the beet into chunks. Add it to the food processor. Process it for about two minutes until the mixture is smooth. Taste and season it with salt if needed. Transfer the hummus to a shallow bowl. Top it with mint and poppy seeds, and drizzle with oil.
CUMIN SEEDS
Combine ¾ cup of chickpeas and ½a teaspoon of baking soda in a medium-size bowl, and pour in cold water to cover it by two inches. Cover and let it sit for 8-12 hours. Drain the chickpeas, rinse and place them in a large saucepan along with two cloves of smashed garlic, a dried red chilli and a bay leaf. Pour in the cold water to cover it by two inches. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer it gently, skimming foam occasionally from the surface for 35-45 minutes until the chickpeas are falling apart. Drain and discard the garlic, chilli and bay leaf. Combine a clove of grated garlic, ⅓ cup of lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a food processor, and let it sit until the bite in the garlic mellows. Add a cup of tahini and ½ cup of ice water, and process it until it’s smooth. With the motor running, slowly stream in ⅓ cup of olive oil and season it with another large pinch of salt. Add the chickpeas and a teaspoon of ground cumin seeds, and process it until the hummus is very smooth, light and creamy.
AVOCADO
Process ½ of a large ripe avocado, 450g of slightly overboiled chickpeas, ⅓ cup of tahini, ¼ cup plus a tablespoon of lime juice, a finely grated clove of garlic, ¾ teaspoon each of salt and pepper, ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin and a cup of cilantro in a food processor until it’s all smooth. With the motor running, stream in two tablespoons of olive oil, and continue to process it all until the hummus is very light and creamy. Transfer the hummus to a shallow bowl and top it with pumpkin seeds and cilantro, and drizzle with more oil.
CARROT
Toast a tablespoon of fennel and coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, swirling the pan often and adding a tablespoon of cumin seeds in the last 30 seconds of cooking until it’s fragrant. Let it cool and then grind the mixture finely. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil. Add ½ a pound of chopped carrots, season it with salt and pepper, and cook while stirring occasionally until the carrots are tender. Add 425g of slightly overboiled chickpeas and a third of the spice mixture, and cook it while stirring occasionally until the carrots are completely tender. Let it cool slightly. Transfer the carrot mixture to a blender and add two cloves of grated garlic, ½ a cup of carrot juice or water, ¼ cup of smooth peanut butter, two tablespoons of lemon juice and four tablespoons of olive oil, and blend until it’s all smooth. Season it with salt and pepper. Toast ½ a cup of peanuts in a small skillet until they’re lightly browned. Add a tablespoon of honey and half of the remaining spice mixture, and cook it while stirring until the honey has caramelised and is darker in colour, and the pan is mostly dry. Transfer the peanut mixture to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, spread in a single layer and leave it to cool. Coarsely chop and serve the hummus with peanuts, and drizzle it with olive oil.