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Recipe: Smoky eggplant dip
This smoky eggplant dip is essentially a shortcut version of one of my favourite dips ever: baba ghanoush. Specially formulated for those days when you don’t have the time or equipment to make the real deal. Instead of imparting a smoky flavour by actually charring the eggplant, this recipe relies on smoked paprika and smoked salt, two of my favourite ingredients. This dip is gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, vegetarian and vegan. You can enjoy it with veggie sticks or crackers (such as Carman’s or Olina’s) or as a sauce to serve with Middle Eastern fare.
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Recipe: Easy pulpo al olivo
Pulpo al olivo is a typical Peruvian dish made with octopus and olive mayonnaise. It is often eaten as an entrée or appetizer. This recipe is called easy pulpo al olivo because I’ve included a couple of shortcuts. The invention of this dish is attributed to Peruvian-Japanese chef Rosita Yimura. My lazy version involves no cooking and minimal preparation by using the following ingredients: pre-cooked octopus (see photo below) pre-made mayonnaise (I recommend homemade, this olive oil mayonnaise or this avocado oil mayonnaise). I also used Peruvian botija olives but you may use kalamatas.
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Recipe: Choritos a la chalaca (Peruvian mussels with salsa)
Choritos a la chalaca is a typical Peruvian appetizer/bar food. “Choros” = mussels (it also means thieves in slang) and “chalaca” is a type of salsa similar to pico de gallo. Chalaco or chalaca is a person (male or female) from the port of Callao, where I was born. The main difference between “salsa chalaca” and pico de gallo is that the former includes corn and rocoto, a super spicy Peruvian chilli. Peruvian corn and rocoto are hard to find in Sydney, so I used sweetcorn and birds eye chilli. The best way of eating choritos a la chalaca is to grab the shell by the tip and drop the…
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Recipe: Easy guacamole
Guacamole is one of the easiest and tastiest ways of consuming avocado. It can be eaten as a dip (with corn chips, crackers or vegetable sticks), as a topping for chilli, tacos or salads, on toast, in burritos, wraps, burgers, etc. There are many ways of making guacamole and, in general, I think you should make it however you like. Having said that, I do follow a few rules: Use lime, never lemon Any kind of onion can be used: red, brown, green, eschalots. Just make sure it’s finely chopped. Never use garlic The tomato is optional, particularly if you’re sharing with people with food sensitivities Black pepper is optional…
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Product review: Obela Hommus To Go
You feel peckish in the middle of the day and find out the only option around is a pack of chips from a vending machine. You resolve to pack a healthy homemade dip with some carrot and celery sticks starting “tomorrow”. When you come home that night you realise you have no time or energy to make the dip, prep the veggies and put them in containers to take to work. We all have been there but even the best intentions to eat healthy go out the window when hunger strikes and we’re caught off-guard. Most of us can picture a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, but many people find…
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Recipe: Black sesame baba ganoush
Black sesame baba ganoush is also (see my recipe for black sesame hummus) my kind of dip. Tasty, healthy, black. It looks scary enough for people to avoid it, so there’s always more for me. Make it for Halloween or any other day. Black sesame seeds are widely used in Chinese medicine. Science suggests they may lower blood pressure and protect against oxidative stress (1). They may also reduce total cholesterol and LDL levels as well as protect cardiovascular, liver and kidney function, among other positive outcomes. Scientists have found at least 20 metabolites that are higher in black sesame seeds than in the white variety and might be responsible…
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Recipe: Black sesame hummus
Black sesame hummus is my kind of dip. Tasty, healthy, black. It looks scary enough for people to avoid it, so there’s always more for me. Make it for Halloween or any other day. Black sesame seeds are widely used in Chinese medicine. Science suggests they may lower blood pressure and protect against oxidative stress (1). They may also reduce total cholesterol and LDL levels as well as protect cardiovascular, liver and kidney function, among other positive outcomes. Scientists have found at least 20 metabolites that are higher in black sesame seeds than in the white variety and might be responsible for their health benefits (2). Hummus is also pretty…
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Recipe: 2-ingredient devilled eggs
Devilled eggs are one of those foods that look very retro but come and go in waves. According to Wikipedia, they date back to ancient Rome (!) Devilled eggs are hard-boiled eggs that are cut in half. The yolks are mixed with binding agents such as mayonnaise and placed back into the egg white cavities. They are mostly a party food but are also wonderful for picnics, as a snack or as part of a meal when paired with veggies. If you can get your hands on good quality spicy mayonnaise (such as Primal Kitchen chipotle lime mayo), you only need a couple of ingredients to make magic happen. This…
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Recipe: Two dips with CO YO
As promised, here’s a recipe featuring the wonderful coconut yoghurt CO YO. Serve with cucumber slices, on top of salad greens, or however you prefer. Trout and tuna dips Yield: about 1 cup each Ingredients Trout & beetroot dip 100g beetroot 100g smoked trout fillet 4 tablespoons natural CO YO 1 gherkin, chopped 1 tablespoon gherkin liquid 1 tablespoon minced dill Curried tuna dip 185g can tuna in springwater 8 tablespoons natural CO YO 2 gherkins, chopped 1 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard Directions Trout & beetroot dip Cut beetroot in chunks and steam until soft (20-30 minutes). Mash beetroot and trout with a fork, add the rest…
