Dips are decadent, delectable, dizzying, dangerous and dreamy. They should be a food group. I had to make a selection of dips for our closing night of Wind in the Willows party… they were a huge hit… just ask the Weasel. They were so easy to make and are now part of my permanent party repertoire.
The three dips I made were a beetroot, a spiced chickpea and my somewhat infamous potato dip. They worked so well together aesthetically and provided the palate with a lovely contrast of flavours and textures.
I first made the potato dip in 2005 whilst living in Perth, where it picked up an ardent fan, who proposed marriage, but was gay, so the proposal seemed a little ill-fated. You’ll need a bunch of potatoes which you boil, then mash. Add olive oil, a significant amount to make it smooth, also add milk until you achieve your desired dip consistency. Smash in a few cloves of garlic, salt and pepper it up. When it has cooled, roughly tear handfuls of basil, coriander and continental parsley. Mmmmmm. Potato dip.
Beetroot is only a fairly new player in my game, having fallen for it at a wedding a few years back. Take one 450g can of baby beetroot and drain all of its jewel-coloured juice then chop roughly. Combine it in a bowl with 250g of natural yogurt, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, teaspoon cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Presto. Beauitful, bold, blushing beetroot dip.
The last dip I made was Jamie Oliver’s spiced chickpea. Grind into a powder a good pinch of cumin seeds and then place in a food processor (I don’t own an f.p. but my blender has enough grunt to do the job). Crumble some dried chili into the f.p. or shake in a good whack of chili flakes. Put in two cloves of minced garlic and the juice of a lemon. Drain the chickpeas, add to the mix and pulse until smooth. Loosen the mixture with a bit of olive oil and season to taste. Easy (chick) peasy.
