**Avocado Dip a.k.a. Guacamole
**
Scoop out the flesh of one very ripe avocado, mash it up real good, and dip tortilla chips in it.
What can I say? I’m a simple man. I’ve tried various guacamole recipes and the other ingredients just get in the way of the avocado.
If I’m feeling incredibly ambitious I’ll make a three-ingredient artichoke dip combining roughly equal volumes of artichoke hearts, mayonaisse, and shredded (not grated or powdered) parmesan cheese, baked until golden brown on the top, and consumed while still warm with tortilla chips or pita crisps.
Lord help me, I think I’m going to actually try this. It just sounds too awful not to.
2 beetroot (approx 350g), trimmed and washed
400g can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
a quarter of a cup of tahini*
a third of a cup of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, crushed
sea salt and cracked black pepper
two and a half tablespoons of olive oil
Place beetroot in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 45 minutes or until very tender. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Slip off the skins, rinse and chop.
Place beetroot in the bowl of a food processor and process until roughly chopped. Add chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and process until smooth. Gradually pour in olive oil, processing until smooth. Serve with Turkish bread.
Makes approximately two and two third cups
Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It is available from supermarkets and health food stores. Use the light-coloured hulled variety, as it has a milder flavour.
Two of my favourites, which never fail to be demolished by the slavering hordes when I put them on the table:
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
1 pkg cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
Juice of 1 lemon
In a food processor, blend the red pepper and garlic until finely minced. Add cream cheese, sour cream and lemon; process until smooth. Serve with toasted pita wedges.
Southwest-ish Black Bean Dip
3 cloves garlic
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
Handful of cilantro
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of 2 limes
Using a food processor, pulse the garlic, chipotle and cilantro until they’re coarsely chopped. Add beans and lime juice; process until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips.
My mother had a dish she called Spanish olive salad which I made into a dip by [del]mis-remembering[/del] improving the recipe.
Spanish Olive Dip
1 pint small curd cottage cheese
1/2 pint sour cream
1 small can chopped black olives
1 small to medium tomato, diced
2-3 green onions, chopped (including the tops)
1 tsp. dill weed
a dash of celery salt, garlic powder, or favorite other spice to taste. (optional)
Mix well, chill, and enjoy with Ry-Krisp, Triscuits, Fritos Scoops or a spoon!
This never fails to get rave reviews and requests for the recipe.
You make an atheist Thank the Lord!, someone is listening!
And you can pull a Ro-Telish trick to make a halfway decent Guacamole, too. Even though devilsknew’s recipe sounds dandy, you have to do something besides smoosh avocados to get it.
2-3 Ripe Avocados (1 if it’s just you)
1 Jar of Picante sauce. I use lots of different ones, whatever we have on hand. If you don’t have a lot of selection or a favorite, Pace Medium is a good starting point, and I think they sell it just about everywhere. Not the chunky variety, the regular. It has plenty of diced tomato.
Smoosh avocados, add Picante to taste. Enjoy.
Hey, it’s better than no Guacamole on your fajitas, isn’t it?
An easy dip that’s pretty good:
-About a cup of yogurt
-About a cup of sour cream
-A couple of scallions, diced fine
-A handful of parsley, chopped
-Various other herbs, chopped
-A clove or two of garlic, crushed
-Salt
-Pepper
-Cayenne
Combine all these things and adjust to taste. Let it sit for a few hours and adjust to taste again. Serve with potato chips. Excellent!
I also make a black bean substance that works as a quesadilla or burrito filling or as a dip:
-Chop an onion and fry it in oil until it’s soft.
-Add lots of cumin and some cayenne and some salt.
-Add two cans (15 oz) drained black beans.
-Add a couple cloves crushed garlic.
-Add the juice of half a lime.
-Add some cilantro if you want.
-Simmer and mash and cook some more until it’s the texture you want.
Oh, and my hummus recipe, modified from The MOosewood Cookbook:
-Toss a couple cloves garlic, a scallion, and a handful of parsley into the food processor. Process.
-Add two cans of drained chickpeas, some cumin, some cayenne, some tamari. Process.
-Add the juice of half a lemon, a ginormous spoonful of tahini. Process.
-Taste and adjust with lemon juice, tamari, tahini, or olive oil.
The parsley and scallions give the hummus a very fresh flavor, while the cumin contributes a nice depth.
And here’s my pimiento cheese recipe:
-Chop up 8 oz or so of cheddar cheese into big chunks.
-Throw in the food processor with a couple tablespoonsful of jarred pimientos, a half-block (4 oz) of cream cheese, a spoonful of mayonnaise, and a crushed clove of garlic.
-Add plenty of cayenne and paprika and black pepper.
I always thought pimiento cheese was revolting, until I had some made with sharp cheddar and a light touch on the mayo. Then I realized how awesome it could be.