White Bean & Roasted Garlic Dip

Well it feels like summer is here already in Brisbane although it's still on the beginning of November!  Hot weekend days mean easy lunches and today we thought we would have a plate of dip with veggies, cheese and crackers.  The only thing to remember with preparing legumes is if possible, please use dried legumes which you just need to soak, rinse and cook ahead of time.  I always find that preparing legumes this way, as opposed to using the tinned varieties, results in less chance of bloating due to the fact that the phytic acid has been neutralised through the soaking process.  

Ingredients (makes about 2 cups of dip):
- 1 cup dried white beans (I used haricot beans), soaked overnight and then rinsed well and cooked until tender - this resulted in about 400g of cooked beans
- 3 cloves garlic, roasted in the skins in a hot oven for 10 minutes, then cooled and peeled
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Herbamare
- Few leaves of fresh basil
- Couple of sprigs of fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Pop all ingredients into Thermomix or food processor and process until the desired consistency is reached (about 30 seconds on speed 4 in Thermomix).  Serve.

Creamy Smoked Salmon Dip

Well it's really only a matter of days that I have left in Perth and apart from that it's been a pretty busy time with the kids' school year coming to a close.  There have been quite a few shared lunches and farewell parties and for one of these, my 4 year old daughter (with very refined taste for a 4 year old I think!) asked me to make some smoked salmon dip with veggie sticks.  I thought that was a fab idea!  So here is my recipe.  Please note that I do my best to avoid using Australian salmon.  The reason being is that salmon is not native to Australia and therefore any Australian salmon tends to be farmed.  In addition, the nutritional value of farmed salmon is lower than that of wild salmon.  So I buy salmon which specifically states on the packet that it has been wild caught and therefore in this rare instance I believe local is not the way to go.

Ingredients (makes about 1.5 cups):

- 1 shallot, trimmed and cut into chunks

- Small handful fresh dill

- 250g block full fat Philly cream cheese

- 150g smoked salmon fillet (wild caught preferably)

- 2 heaped tbsp natural full fat yoghurt

- 2 tsp tomato paste

- 1 tsp onion powder

- Squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice

- Sea salt and pepper 

Method:

Add shallots and dill into Thermomix or food processor and process for a few seconds until chopped finely (2sec/sp7 in Thermomix).  Add remaining ingredients and process until well combined and smooth in consistency (40sec/sp4 in Thermomix), stopping and scraping down the sides halfway through the process.

Hummus

It is finally feeling like spring in Perth and it's been such a lovely, relaxing day.  I felt like something super easy for an afternoon snack (but it was so good that I probably won't be hungry at dinner time now!).  Since buying my Thermomix in 2010, I have been making loads of different dips.  One of my faves is the hummus from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook, but I'm not a fan of using tinned legumes (where possible), so I have tweaked that recipe a bit to make the hummus just as I like it!  If you're wondering what the issue is with tinned legumes, they are usually cooked without soaking.  Soaking legumes prior to cooking helps to neutralise the phytic acid and makes the legumes much more digestible.  It's well worth the effort I think!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water for 24 hours, then drained and rinsed and simmered in water for about an hour or until tender, then cooled and drained

- 1/2 clove garlic

- 1 tbsp tahini

- Small handful of fresh parsley

- 2 tsp onion powder

- Good splash of extra virgin olive oil

- Juice of half a lime

- Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste

Method:

Put all the ingredients into Thermomix or food processor and process until desired consistency is reached.  I processed for about 30sec/sp4 in my Thermomix, stopping and scraping down the sides a couple of times.  Serve with crackers or veggie sticks and an extra drizzle of olive oil on top of the dip!

Roasted Capsicum & Sundried Tomato Dip

I haven't bought premade dips in a few years due to the nasties that get added to them.  Plus it is so easy to make your own dips at home, full of real and wholesome ingredients.  This particular dip requires a little prep time with roasting the capsicum and nuts, but apart from that, it takes almost no time at all to make!  It makes a great little afternoon snack on the weekend.

Ingredients:
- 1 red capsicum
- 1/2 cup raw cashews or macadamias
- 1/2 cup organic sundried tomatoes (make sure they are additive free - it can be difficult to find additive free sundried tomatoes in the supermarket - I used Organico brand which I bought from an organic health food store)
- 1 fresh tomato, halved
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (or parmesan/pecorino if you're OK with dairy)
- Squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Sea salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.  Put the whole capsicum onto the baking tray and also the raw nuts.  Put into the oven. 

2.  After around 10 minutes or when the nuts are looking lightly roasted, remove them from the oven.  Put the capsicum back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until it is soft.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

3.  When the capsicum has cooled down, peel it (the skin should just pull away easily) and discard the skin and seeds.

4.  Add the capsicum flesh along with all the other ingredients to Thermomix or food processor.  Pulse a few times until the desired consistency is reached.  We had this dip with cucumber slices!

Roasted Eggplant Dip

When you're intolerant to all sorts of foods like I am, it can sometimes be hard to find snacks that are yummy and healthy.  This dip is both.  Very quick to whip up once you have roasted your eggplant and garlic!  Roasting the garlic cloves gives this dip a very mild garlic flavour but you could use raw garlic if you wanted - though if you do that, then I recommend cutting back to just 1 clove of garlic.

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Pierce the eggplant a few times and place on the baking tray, along with the 3 unpeeled garlic cloves.  Bake for 15 minutes, take out the garlic, and bake the eggplant a further 20 minutes or until soft.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

3. Peel the garlic and eggplant and add to food processor or Thermomix.  Process for a few seconds until chopped (3sec/sp5 in Thermomix).

4.  Add the remaining ingredients and process until almost smooth (1min/sp5 in Thermomix).  Adjust seasonings if necessary.  Drizzle with some extra olive oil and serve with crackers or veggie sticks.

Dairy-free "Cheese" Spread

Don't knock it till you try it!  This nut cheese tastes like a super yummy nacho cheese which is fab for someone like me who doesn't tolerate dairy too well.  I recently had something similar at a cafe called Samudra's while on a weekend away in the Margaret River region and I liked it so much, I had to have a go at making something like that myself!  This would also make a delish dip to have with crackers or veggie sticks!

Ingredients:
1.5 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
1/4 red capsicum
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp good quality salt (I used Celtic)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 lemon or so, juiced

Method:
Add all ingredients to Thermomix/food processor and blend until smooth (1min/sp5 in Thermomix).  Adjust seasonings if necessary, scrape down the sides of the food processor and blend some more. 

Creamy Salmon Dip

Dips are one of those things that are generally pretty quick to whip up, but so many people buy them at the shops (myself included, back in the day before I saw the light!)... and yet the store bought ones are loaded with all sorts of additives and fillers and really not much that is actually nutritious and worth eating!  This dip is delicious and healthy.  Just remember to soak your cashews for a few hours before making this dip as it is the cashews that give it that creamy texture.  If you're OK with dairy, you could also use a block of Philly cream cheese (full fat) in place of the cashews.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 6 hours, then drained and rinsed

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

210g can pink salmon (wild caught), drained, bones removed

3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Sea salt and pepper to taste

To serve - carrot and cucumber sticks

Method:

1.  To Thermomix or food processor, add the drained cashews, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.  Process until finely chopped (10sec/sp5 in Thermomix).

2.  Add the remaining dip ingredients and process until all ingredients are combined and the desired consistency is reached (around 1min/sp4 in Thermomix).

3.  To serve, garnish with some fresh dill, cracked pepper and an extra drizzle of olive oil.