Spicy Guacamole

Adapted from Food52

Printable Recipe


Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes 2 cups


Ingredients:
3 large Hass avocados, halved & pitted
1 small new onion, cut into chunks
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chunked
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 large pinch coarse sea salt
Juice of 1 lime

Directions:
1. With the motor on, drop the onion chunks, jalapeno pepper and garlic down the feeding tube.  Keep the motor running until the mixture is finely chopped.

2.  Add meat of 1 1/2 - 2 avocados, along with the lime juice and most of the cilantro and pulse until well combined.

3.  Place the guacamole into a large bowl.  Cube the last avocado.  Mix into the guacamole and taste for seasoning.  You might want a little extra cilantro or lime juice.

White Bean, Mint & Parmesan Dip

From The Lazy Gourmet

(I should have chosen a more colorful bowl to serve it in... but it was devoured in no time!)

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Makes: 1¾ cup

Ingredients:

1 large clove garlic, peeled

1 (14oz/398ml) can cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained & rinsed

2 tbsp olive oil (plus whatever you need to balance the lemon juice)

½ cup fresh mint leaves

Juice & zest of 1 large lemon

Pinch of salt

½ jalapeno pepper, seeded & finely chopped ( or more if you like it really spicy)

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Drop the garlic through the feeding tube of your food processor with the motor running.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. Taste and add whatever is missing in your mind. If it’s too thick, add a little water, lemon juice or oil – a tiny bit at a time.

2. Transfer to a bowl, and serve with chips or crudites.

Tuscan Bean Dip

From Joy Bauer's Food Cures

PrintableRecipe

Hands on time: 5 minutes

Makes 1½ cups

Ingredients

1 can (14-16 oz/398-540 ml) cannellini or navy beans, rinsed & drained

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp-1 tbsp olive oil ( I used avocado oil this time)

2 tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced (I used baby arugula this time)

½ tsp fresh sage or rosemary, chopped (I used both)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pinch red pepper flakes

¼ tsp kosher salt (optional)

Ground black pepper (optional – I found the red pepper flakes & garlic added enough heat)

Directions:

1. Place everything in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Serve immediately  with vegetable sticks (Ruth’s note:  I found it very thick, so either dilute with a little water or do as I did… fill celery sticks, scoop out center of English cucumber or small sweet red peppers to stuff.  Another option, fill small whole wheat pita halves with a spoonful or “butter” a tortilla wrap and roll it up. 

Hot Spinach Cheese Dip

Hot Spinach Cheesy Dip
Adapted from Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast

Printable Recipe

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 25-30 minutes

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
4oz/112g baby spinach (the recipe called for 2lb/1kg, but all I had was 4oz and I added the Swiss chard – total weight was still less than 1lb and plenty for the dip)
1 bunch Swiss Chard leaves (stems removed), coarsely chopped (beet greens are nice too)
½ cup milk
6oz/25g cream cheese, cut into small cubes and allowed to soften on the counter
3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3-4 dashes Cholula Chiptle hot sauce (or whatever your favorite is – do try to find some Cholula though, it’s awesome)
¾ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded + ¼ cup for topping
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C

2. In a Dutch oven, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent and fragrant, stirring occasionally (five minutes). Don’t let the garlic burn or the dish will taste bitter.

3. Add the spinach and chopped Swiss chard and sauté until wilted (another 5-8 minutes).

4. Transfer the greens to a colander or large strainer and press out any moisture. Place the drained mixture on a chopping board and coarsely chop.

5. Back in the Dutch oven, bring the milk to a boil and add the diced cream cheese, whisking until melted (about 3 minutes). Return the chopped cooked greens to the pot and add the seasonings and mozzarella. Stir to combine and pour into a baking dish – preferably one you can serve from. Sprinkle more mozzarella (about ¼ cup) over top.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let set on the counter for 5 minutes or so – just until it cools down a little. The dip will thicken and … of course, keep you from burning your tongue.

I like to serve it with multigrain chips or homemade pita chips.

Spicy Swiss Chard Tahini Dip

Spicy Swiss Chard Tahini Dip
Adapted from Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home

Printable Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Makes 1½ cups

Ingredients:
½ lb/225g Swiss Chard, stalk removed (the book uses spinach, great, but any lovely green
veg would work well – kale, comes to mind)
2 cups water
½ cup tahini paste – stir well before measuring
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp hot sauce (I used Cholula’s Chili lime sauce)

Directions:
1. Heat water to boiling in a small saucepan. Add the Swiss chard and boil, uncovered over high heat for 2 minutes or until the chard is tender. Transfer to a colander, drain the greens and reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid, letting it cool.

2. Rinse the chard under cold water and drain well, pressing excess water out of the chard.

3. Drop the garlic cloves through the feeding tube of a food processor with the motor running. Add the chard to the bowl of the food processor, scraping any garlic into the bowl as well.

4. In a small bowl, combine the tahini, lemon juice and hot sauce. Taste and adjust to your preference. If you like things mild, you might want to start with a teaspoon of hot sauce and work your way up.

5. Add the sauce to the food processor and pulse until it’s the consistency you like. If it’s too thick, add some of the cooking liquid.
Serve with pita or tortilla chips or crudités – or all three.

Creamy Dill Salad Dressing

Creamy Dill Salad Dressing

From Salad Dressing 101: Dressings for All Occasions (originally from Norene Gilletz's Food Processor Bible which is sitting on my shelf and I never thought to look!)

Makes 1 ½ cups

Printable Recipe

Prep time: less than 5 minutes

Note: it actually tasted even better the next day. Will keep in the fridge for a week and tastes awesome as a dressing for grilled or roasted fish. And perfect as a dip.

Ingredients:
2-4 cloves garlic
¼ cup fresh dill (1 tsp dried)
1 cup mayo (next time I might try ½ mayo, ½ yoghurt)
6 tbsp vinegar (this time I used white wine vinegar)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Using a food processor fitted with a steel blade, drop the garlic and ill through the feed tube while the machine is running. Process until minced and then add the remaining ingredients and process until blended.

I actually just threw everything in together. It’s quite a flavorful dressing, so I’d go with romaine or simply cut chunky vegetables like cucumber, red peppers, tomatoes….and toss.

Chickpea & Pomegranate Dip

Chickpea & Pomegranate Dip
From Small Bites

Makes about 1 cup
Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cans (14oz/400g) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds, (I like to toast them first and slightly bash them in a mortar & pestle – that would be any heavy object in a bowl if you don’t have a real one)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 red chili peppers, deseeded & finely chopped (I used 1 Jalapeno pepper, but here’s where you add the amount and type of heat you want)
5 oz/150g feta cheese, crumbled
2+ tbsp pomegranate molasses/syrup

Pita chips (there is a recipe in the book as well –p217, but I just used some multigrain tortilla chips)

Directions:
1. Place chickpeas/garbanzo beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a food processor and pulse just until coarsely crushed. Taste to see if you need more garlic or lemon juice.

2. In a small bowl, combine the cilantro, mint & chopped peppers and set aside.

Two ways to serve:
1. Individual bites on a platter: place pita chips or multigrain tortilla chips and top with a spoonful of chickpea mixture. Sprinkle with a little toasted cumin seeds, onion, herb & pepper mix, top with crumbled feta and then drizzle with some pomegranate syrup.

2. Bowl of dip surrounded by chips: Take a large platter and place a bowl of chickpea mixture in the center surrounded by chips (pita, tortilla or whatever you favor). Top as above, adding more “toppings” as needed.