Vegetarian Dips - Guest post from the Recipe Resource

Hello!  Welcome to the first of my guest posts in honour of Kneadwhine's first birthday (well, if you ignore the initial foray a few years ago).  Over the next four weeks there will be a series of posts from guest bloggers and Twitter friends and I'm really excited about them.

Vegetarian Dips!

Hi! I’m Kate and I blog at The Recipe Resource , which caters primarily for families feeding children on medical exclusion diets. I set the site up when my youngest two children were diagnosed with Eosinophilic Disease, a chronic condition where non IgE “gut” allergies to food and environmental proteins precipitate inflammation in the digestive tract causing considerable and extensive problems for the sufferer. You can find out more here.  

We at The Recipe Resource find dips are a great way of livening up our “free from” bread, which can otherwise seem quite dry. Gluten free pitta toasts well whole but doesn’t split easily, so I slice them in diagonal strips to enjoy with either of these dips. (The same is true of gluten free bread sticks, drier than normal but lovely in dips.)

Hummus – prep time 5 min (yield about a cup)

This versatile paste can be breakfast, with some fresh pita bread, a snack with carrot sticks, a sandwich filling, even used in cooking to thicken certain soups, the list goes on… This makes about a regular tub size that you can buy in the supermarket. (And costs pennies, compared to buying the prepared stuff!)

Ingredients

• 1 tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or about 3/4 cup dry, soaked overnight till soft)
• 2 tbsp tahina (sesame seed paste) 
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• Garlic and salt to taste
• 3-5 tbsp good olive oil

Method

• Blitz all ingredients in blender or food processor until very smooth (you might need to add small amounts of water if it gets too stiff and sticky) – you want a final consistency like warm butter, very spreadable. 

TIPS

• You can also add a peeled chopped carrot, this makes it a bit less sticky and is a good way to sneak veg into things. 
• To make it super-smooth, try adding less water and a tablespoon of yoghurt. 
• For good presentation, serve in a shallow bowl, with olive oil drizzled on top, and a few pine nuts sprinkled on.

————————————————————————————————————————

Guacamole – prep time 5-10 minutes (yield about 1 cup – nibbles for 2-4 adults with tortilla chips)

Ingredients

• very ripe avocado – (should yield to gentle pressure but not have visible depressions on the surface, as these mean bruises)
• coriander leaves
• red onion
• olive oil
• lime or lemon juice
• optional – jalapeno chili

Method

• Peel the avocado – the best way to do this is to run your large knife around it, cutting down to the pit, then twist the two halves apart. Then use a spoon to get the large stone out. Chop into a fine dice and put in bowl. Add very finely diced onion, chili, and coriander leaves (large handful). 
• Drizzle with about 1 large spoon oil and a bit of salt. 
• Stir and mash with a fork to desired consistency. (Don’t use a blender or food processor as it will go all gummy.) If the avocado is ripe enough it should mash easily. 

You can serve this as nibbles/appetizer/finger food – use tortilla chips or if not available you can toast small pieces of flat-bread in the oven. Also makes a good sandwich filling.