Dips n' Chips for Christmas Drinks

It’s the drinks party season, and when I usually have friends over for a few glasses of wine, I normally whip up some homemade dips to go with toasted pitta crisps and shop bought tortilla chips. For me once the second glass of wine is in the belly the munchies set in and the dips go down a treat.  With a mini blender they are super-fast to prepare or simply just using  a potato masher, and if you wish to be a bit more health conscious, then why not chop up a few crudités of red pepper, carrot and cucumber to use as your dipper instead of chips.

My top 5 dips for chips/crudités are:

·         Hummus

·         Guacamole

·         Refried Beans (black eye bean mash)

·         Olive Tapenade

·         Spicy Tomato Salsa

Here are a few of my favourite dip recipes, tried, tested and approved!

Refried Beans

Ingredients

·         1 tin of black eye beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 garlic clove, grated

·         1 red onion, finely diced

·         3 slices of jalapeno chilli

·         2 tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

·         3 tbsp of olive oil

·         1 tbsp of cumin powder

Method

1.       Fry the garlic and onion in a little oil and cumin powder.

2.       Add the beans and heat through.

3.       Finely chop the jalapeno slices and add to the pan

4.       Stir for a minute or two and then take off the heat.

5.       Using a potato masher, mash the mixture well, adding more oil if necessary.

6.       Stir in the parsley and season well with salt and pepper.

7.       Transfer to a serving bowl.

Guacamole

Ingredients

·         1 ripe avocado, chopped

·         ½ garlic clove, minced

·         2 spring onions, finely chopped

·         4-5 slices of  spicy jalapeno peppers (from a jar is fine)

·         Juice of a lime

·         Salt and pepper

·         1 tbsp of olive oil

·         3 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1.       Add every ingredient to a bowl and stir well to incorporate the mixture well.

2.       Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

Harissa Hummus

Ingredients

·         1 tin of chickpeas,  drained and rinsed.

·         1 tbsp of spicy harissa paste

·         ½ tbsp. of ground cumin powder

·         3 tbsp of olive oil

·         Salt and pepper

·         ½ a garlic clove, minced

·         Zest and juice of a lemon

·         3-4 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1.       Add every ingredient to a mini blender and blend until smooth.

2.       Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.