Tag: Dip

Walnut-Pecan Pesto

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Ingredients:

  • Heaping ¼ cup walnuts
  • Heaping ¼ pecans
  • 1 cup fresh basil (loosely packed)
  • 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • The juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp Himalayan salt
  • ½ cup Balsamic Dressing (preferably homemade: garlic, EVOO, balsamic, lemon juice, salt & pepper)

Process:

  1. In a food processor pulse the walnuts and pecans until they are finely crumbed
  2. Finely chop basil and then add to food processor.
  3. Add all of the other ingredients and blend. 
  4. That’s it! 

Roasted Red Dip

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This has become one of my favourite go-to dips.  It is super quick and easy to make and is super versatile.  I’ve layered it with leftover spinach & artichoke dip to make lasagne and also baked it in portobello caps as an easy dinner main.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Cashews (raw)
  • 1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds (raw)
  • 1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds (dry roasted unsalted if possible, otherwise raw)
  • 1 Cup Roasted Mixed Coloured Peppers
  • 1/2 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes (packed in oil) + 1 Tbsp of the oil
  • 1 Clove Garlic (crushed)
  • 1/2 Tsp Himalayan Salt (plus more to taste)
  • 4-6 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
  • 1/2 Cup Water (added 2 tbsp at a time)
  • Dash of Smoked Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Onion Powder

Method:

  1. In a food processor add cashews, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.  Pulse until the nuts and seeds are coarsely crumbed. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
  2. Next, slice the sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces and add them to the food processor.  Do the same with the roasted peppers (recipe can be found here).  Pulse a few times.
  3. Add nut and seed mix, ACV, a splash of water, salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder, crushed garlic clove and a dash of smoked paprika.
  4. Pulse to combine.  The mixture will start forming a paste. Keep adding water, ACV, a bit of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and spices until you get the right taste and consistency.   The more liquid you add and the more you blend it, the colour will change to a bright orange-y red and turn into a thick dip or sauce consistency.  Keep tasting and seasoning until you get the right flavour.
  5. Garnish with pumpkin seeds, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.  (If you want to get fancy sch-mancy – when you roast the peppers, save the awesome juice that is left on the pan – drizzle this on top with your garnish 👌)
  6. Enjoy! 😊

TIPS

  1. Because the cashews are raw they will naturally thicken the dip with a bit of time, as they soak up some of the moisture.  I have learned after making the dip a few times that if I make it to what I think is a little too runny, it thickens up to a good consistency.
  2. Keep tasting the dip and seasoning as you go.  It always takes me forever to get a recipe out of my head and into writing because I never really know exactly what goes into each recipe.  Every batch is a little different – don’t be afraid to add a little bit more of something and see how it changes the taste.
  3. ACV is the secret ingredient, – don’t be afraid of it!  The recipe says 4 tbsp and I think the last batch had 6.  Once the dip rests for a few minutes the flavours will blend a bit more.

Ultimate Cashew Cream Sauce

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Ingredients:
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 2.5 cups water
  • 9 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp tamari
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp arrowroot powder/tapioca starch
Method
  1. Soak cashews overnight or boil them until soft.
  2. Strain and rinse cashews. Add cashews to a high-speed blender with water, nutritional yeast, tamari, onion powder and garlic powder. Blend until smooth.
  3. Taste the mixture – add salt and pepper to taste along with any other ingredients. Add more nutritional yeast for cheesiness, and more garlic or onion powder for flavour. Onion gives a nice sweet flavour without getting too bitter (which can sometimes happen with too much garlic). Tamari gives a nice salty savoury flavour.
  4. Once you get your desired flavour, then add the arrowroot/tapioca starch and blend once more. The reason you add it after is because the starch tastes chalky before it is heated and will make it hard to get the seasoning right.
  5. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat and stir constantly. Once the mixture starts to thicken and bubble, turn the temperature down to medium-low and cook for a few more minutes to fully activate the starch and thicken up. Taste the mixture – if it tastes starchy at all you haven’t cooked it long enough.
  6. Depending on what kind of thickness you want you can easily add more water and stretch out the sauce a bit further (which I usually do).
  7. Again, keep tasting the sauce and season it more if needed. Sometimes the starch absorbs some of the flavour and needs a bit more salt or pepper.
  8. Enjoy right away and store the rest in a glass jar to reheat for another meal later.

That’s it! This sauce is a good base and is very versatile for a number of different dips and sauces. I’ve used this recipe to make Spinach & Artichoke Sauce/Pasta, Vegan Queso, Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta, Creamy Jalapeño dip/pasta. So good!!

 

Easy Bruschetta Mix

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This Easy Bruschetta Mix is super simple, very diverse and the flavours continue to get even better with a little bit of time.
Ingredients:
  • 1kg Tomatoes
  • 2 Red Onions (small or 1 large)
  • Handful of Basil
  • Balsamic Vinegar (few splashes)
  • Olive Oil (few splashes)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Nutritional Yeast (few spoonfuls)
Note: I made a large batch but you can really use whatever you’ve got on hand. 
Method
  1. Dice the tomatoes whatever size you like. Mine were about 1 cm.
  2. Dice red onion really small.
  3. Chop up basil fairly fine.
  4. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.  The next bit is all about taste testing.  Add a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of balsamic and season with salt and pepper.  Taste until you get a flavour that you like.  Add a bit of nutritional yeast, give it a good stir and season more.
  5. Serve as a dip, make traditional bruschetta on toast, add it to sandwiches, wraps or serve with rice.

Super Simple Mango Salsa

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This salsa was super simple and was thrown together with a few leftover ingredients that needed to be used up. Use whatever ratio of ingredients you like and just taste as you go. You can really make a salsa or dip with whatever you have on hand so feel free to switch it up and get creative!

Ingredients:

  • Tomatoes 5-6
  • Mangos 3-4
  • Red chilies
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Red onion
  • Salt and pepper
  • Chipotle seasoning

Method:

  1. Dice tomatoes and mangos.
  2. Finely dice red onion and thinly slice red chilies.
  3. Place in a mixing bowl and add a couple splashes of balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Optional: I added some Chipotle Flavor God seasoning to give it an extra kick.
  5. Enjoy fresh or store in fridge for a few days. I find the flavours get better after a day or so.