Читать книгу The Joyful Home Cook - Rosie Birkett - Страница 28
ОглавлениеMy go-to dips
When I was a kid, it was my job to hand round dips at my parents’ dinner parties and I guess I’ve never grown out of it. Dips are an ideal way to start a meal because they can be made ahead, are communal and a great vehicle for lovely crunchy raw vegetables or the homemade spiced crackers (see here).
Roast squash and Parmesan ‘queso’
Serves 4–6
This dip is based on the creamy, cheesy Tex Mex dip ‘queso’, which is usually made with shedloads of orange American cheese. Here, I make it with roasted butternut squash with charred jalapeño, and serve it with spiced, popped pumpkin seeds for some much-needed crunch.
2 garlic cloves (skin on)
1 shallot (skin on)
500g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
pinch of cumin seeds
leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
3 tbsp olive oil
1 red jalapeño chilli
2 tbsp water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cream cheese
50g Parmesan (or vegetarian hard cheese) grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the toasted pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
½ tsp cayenne pepper
To serve
1 tbsp Fermented Green Chillies (see here)
1 tbsp coriander leaves
tortilla chips, to serve
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
2 Put the garlic cloves, shallot and butternut squash chunks in a roasting tray and season with salt and pepper. Scatter over the cumin seeds, thyme leaves and pour over the olive oil, tossing to coat everything well. Cover the tray tightly with foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes, or until a skewer can be inserted into the squash and meet no resistance.
3 Meanwhile, heat the rapeseed oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the pumpkin seeds for a couple of minutes until popped. Transfer to a bowl and season with cayenne and salt.
4 Scorch the jalapeño chilli over a gas flame until softened and partially blackened, then rub off the skin with kitchen towel, split it lengthways and remove the seeds.
5 Remove the squash from the oven and allow it to cool slightly for a couple of minutes, then squeeze the shallots and garlic from their skins and transfer them to the bowl of a food processor. Add the roasted squash and all the remaining ingredients (including the scorched, deseeded jalapeño) and blitz on high for a few minutes until you have a creamy, smooth dip. Season to taste and adjust the acid and salt accordingly. Scrape into a bowl and top with the fermented chillies, toasted pumpkin seeds and coriander. Serve with tortilla chips.
Charred onion and sour cream
Serves 4–6
This is an update on one of my favourite classic dips – sour cream and onion – which did the rounds at the parties of my youth, scooped hungrily into mouths on the curve of a similarly flavoured Pringle. This is great with proper potato Kettle chips.
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
4 medium white onions, thinly sliced
big pinch of sea salt
pinch of caster sugar
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
200g sour cream
50g mayonnaise
3g chives, finely chopped, plus extra snipped chives, to garnish
flatbreads or raw veg, to serve
1 Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions, salt and sugar and cook, stirring every now and then, for 10–15 minutes, until the onions are charred, softened and delicious. Stir in the pomegranate molasses and allow to cool.
2 In a bowl, combine the sour cream and mayonnaise. Slide in the cooled onions and chives and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and leave to infuse in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow for the flavours to develop (if you have time). Serve in a bowl garnished with extra chives. Serve with flatbreads or raw veg for dipping.
Broad bean, mint and feta
Serves 4–6
Broad beans are one of the first things I successfully grew on my allotment, following in my father’s footsteps as he was an avid fan of the ‘broads’. They are very easy to grow. You simply bury the seeds (as early as February) and after a few months the green shoots start to emerge. I make this perky dip to celebrate my allotment haul, but it’s also very agreeable made with frozen broad beans that have been blanched and peeled.
500g broad beans (fresh or frozen)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
small bunch of dill fronds, reserving some for garnish
small bunch of mint leaves reserving some for garnish
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 slice of preserved lemon (shop-bought or (see here)), chopped
100g feta
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and ground black pepper or pink peppercorns
1 Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the broad beans and garlic and cook for 3–5 minutes, until tender. Add the herbs at the last minute just to blanch them until wilted. Drain, reserving the cooking water. Peel the broad beans and discard the skins.
2 Place the beans, garlic, cooked herbs and all the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until smooth, adding a little of the cooking water to loosen, if needed. Taste for seasoning and acid and adjust accordingly. Transfer to a bowl and leave to infuse in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow for the flavours to develop (if you have time), then serve in a bowl, drizzled with more extra-virgin olive oil and garnished with the reserved herbs and pink peppercorns.
TIP: This also makes for a lovely breakfast topped with a crispy fried egg and some rose harissa.
Chermoula cannellini bean
with crispy fried artichokes
Serves 4–6
Chermoula is traditionally a North African marinade for fish, but the zippy combination of coriander, cumin, cayenne and paprika is a fantastic way to flavour this creamy cannellini bean dip. I make a big bowl of this and top it with crispy fried artichoke hearts, which are coated in semolina and fried until crunchy and golden. Try and use the good-quality jarred artichokes that come packed in oil as they have a really fantastic piquancy to them, which works nicely against the richness of the dip. It also happens to be vegan and gluten free.
flatbreads or crispbreads, to serve
For the dip
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp coriander seeds
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 × 400g tin cannellini beans, drained (reserving 1 tbsp water from the tin)
½ tsp smoked sweet paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 slices of preserved lemon (shop-bought or (see here)), chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus extra, finely chopped, to garnish
For the crispy artichokes
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp semolina flour
½ tsp cumin seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar
pinch of sea salt, plus extra to serve
200g olive oil-packed cooked artichoke hearts
1 Heat the olive oil for the dip in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes until aromatic, then tip in the cannellini beans and toss everything together over the heat for a minute. Remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of a food processor with all of the remaining dip ingredients. Blitz to a smooth paste, adding a splash of water to thin until creamy. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly with more salt or acid, until it really sings. Leave to infuse in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow for the flavours to develop (if you have time).
2 To make the crispy artichokes, heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Put the semolina flour, ground cumin seeds and salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Drain the artichokes from their oil and one by one coat them in the semolina. Once fully coated, slide them into the oil and fry for a couple of minutes until golden and crisp, turning them to make sure they cook evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with kitchen paper and scatter with a pinch of sea salt.
3 Serve the dip topped with the crispy artichokes, with flatbreads or crispbreads for scooping.
Beetroot, coconut and curry leaf
Serves 4–6
Beetroot and coconut is a flavour combination I discovered in Sri Lanka, where beetroot curry is a staple. This vegan and gluten-free dip takes its lead from this curry (see here) and is a winner served with crisp seeded crackers (see here) or crisps.
500g raw beetroots, scrubbed
olive oil, for drizzling
1 tbsp coconut cream
juice of ½ lime
½ tsp red chilli powder
100g drained tinned chickpeas
1 tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
handful of fresh curry leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
crushed pink peppercorns, to serve
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
2 Toss the beetroots in a roasting tray with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover the tray with foil and roast in the oven for 1¼ hours, or until a skewer inserted into a beetroot comes out with no resistance. Remove and leave to cool, then peel the beetroots and roughly chop.
3 Place the beetroot in a blender or food processor with the coconut cream, lime juice, chilli powder, chickpeas and big pinch of salt, and blitz until you have a smooth purée.
4 Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and when they start to pop, add the curry leaves and fry until crispy but not browned.
5 Season the dip with salt and pepper to taste, scoop it into bowls and top with the mustard seed and curry leaf mix. Stir and serve warm or cold, garnished with pink peppercorns.
Ras el hanout roasted chickpea
Serves 4–6
A spoonful of ras el hanout transports you straight to the spice souk. A heady, fragrant North African spice blend composed of more than 30 ingredients, it translates from the Arabic to mean ‘top of the shop’.
Serve it with warm pitta bread or yoghurt flatbreads (see here), or as part of a meze plate with Labneh (see here), roasted veg and freekeh.
2 × 400g tins chickpeas, rinsed
1½ tbsp rapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves (skin on)
3 tsp ras el hanout
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 tbsp tahini
140ml cold water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp orange juice
1 slice of Preserved Orange (see here), chopped, or grated zest of ½ orange
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped, plus a few whole leaves, to garnish
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
2 Dry the chickpeas with a clean tea towel and put them in a large roasting tray. Add the rapeseed oil, garlic cloves, ras el hanout and a pinch of salt and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.
3 Leave to cool for a few minutes after roasting, then transfer to a food processor (squeezing the garlic out of the skins first), reserving a handful of chickpeas for garnishing. Add all the other ingredients and pulse until creamy, but still slightly chunky. Transfer to a bowl, top with the remaining chickpeas and drizzle over more olive oil for good measure. Scatter over the coriander leaves and serve.
