I’m a big fan of little dishes, like Spanish tapas and Greek meze, especially when they include dips.

Dips come in so many types, made from so many different ingredients, I love them. They’re perfect for a snack, lunch or BBQs; you can dip crisps, crusty bread, pita wedges, sliced veggies, bread sticks, pretty much anything you feel like.

Humous

Ingredients

420 g chickpeas (cooked,drained and rinsed)
2 tsps tahini paste
3 tbsns olive oil (or if your olive oil is strong, mix with rapeseed oil).
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tspn cumin powder (optional)
1 lemon juice
salt

Put the tin of cooked chickpeas (must be rinsed), garlic, spices, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice in a food processor and blend together.
Add extra lemon juice and/or water to make the consistency that you like.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika (optional)

Taramosalata

Ingredients

85g Cod roe (smoked)
150ml Olive oil & rapeseed oil mixed 50:50
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tbspn fresh parsley, chopped.
Boiling water

Soak roe in cold water for 2hrs, then rinse, drain and peel skin.
In a bowl, mash the roe to a pulp with a fork.
Mixing with an electric blender, gradually add the lemon juice.
Gradually add the oil (as if making mayonnaise) until it becomes solid and dry.
When it is at the lumpy, dry stage, whilst mixing, gradually add a little just boiled water until it reaches a smooth mousse consistency.
Note: Do not add the water until the mix is solid, otherwise it will separate.
Stir in the parsley and garlic.

Melitzanosalata

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine
100ml extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of wine vinegar
1 cloves of garlic, crushed
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Pierce the aubergine with a fork and char on the grill, or over an open flame (alternatively, grill for 10-15 minutes) until the aubergine turns black and is very soft. Set to cool and drain on a rack with paper towels underneath.

As soon as it can be handled, peel by hand (the skin will come off easily), and transfer to a bowl. Chop the pulp into small pieces with a knife, and mash with a fork. With a wooden spoon, stir in oil and vinegar slowly, alternating between them, until well blended. Stir in garlic, salt, and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature. This goes well with salty cheeses and fish meze like anchovies.

Theses dips are all very different in flavour, you have the nutty-ness of the humous, the creamy fishy-ness of the taramosalata and the fresh earthy-ness of the melitzanosalata. All three have a fair amount of oil but if you mix the olive oil with rapeseed oil, you get a milder flavour and the added health benefits. Plus you’re not going to eat them everyday, everything in moderation!

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