Trio of healthy dips with homemade crackers

I’m sure, like many other people, I find the beginning of a new year a time for reflection over the year(s) past.  I like to recap on lessons learnt, think about how I want the next year to be and sometimes even have a loose plan of action.

I used to have a New Year’s resolution for the start of each year, usually involving losing weight, becoming fitter, eating better or some other promise to myself.  However, I gave up making these resolutions sometime ago because I felt like I was setting myself up for failure.  I’d be diligent for the first couple of weeks and then be really mad with myself when I didn’t carry through.

So this year there are no false promises.  I know we will be eating better because I’m making things from scratch.  It might sound like cliché but I know we feel healthier for doing so.  I spoke to one of my wonderful clients a few days ago and she told me that her family feels exactly the same.  That by simply not having preservatives and additives in their diet anymore they are feeling healthier.  I love it when I hear this from others because I always tell people that but it is difficult for me to actually prove it to them.

All this talk of healthy eating and the New Year inspired me to want to share some of my healthy dip options and my favourite cracker recipe with you.  Use these for your New Year’s Eve party or simply when you have guest for a BBQ in the summer months.

To help out I thought I’d list the specific dietary benefits for the dips below.  Of course you can adjust these to suit your particular diet.  Remember to check out all of the tips**, find out how I make these one after the other without washing the bowl :).

Dairy-free – healthy green dip and roast pumpkin hummus
Nut-free – roast pumpkin hummus and beetroot dip
Low-fat – healthy green dip, beetroot dip and roast pumpkin hummus
Gluten-free – healthy green dip, beetroot dip and roast pumpkin hummus
Vegetarian – healthy green dip, beetroot dip and roast pumpkin hummus
Vegan – healthy green dip and roast pumpkin hummus

What is your favourite dip to make in your Thermomix?

trio of dips – green goddess dip, roast pumpkin hummus, beetroot dip with homemade crackers  (recipes by Fiona at Food 4 Thought).

green goddess dip – makes approximately 1 cup
Ingredients
1 clove garlic
50g lightly toasted (and cooled) pumpkin seeds
50g toasted (and cooled) almonds
80 – 100g greens (I used a combination of spinach, rocket, basil and coriander)
30g apple cider or white wine vinegar
30g extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Preparation
Place garlic into TM bowl and chop for 2 seconds on speed 7.  Scrape down sides of bowl, add pumpkin seeds and almonds.  Chop for 3 seconds on speed 6.  Scrape down sides of bowl, add remaining ingredients and chop for 10 seconds on speed 5.  Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat if necessary.

Serve with crackers or vegetable pieces.

My tips: *I like this dip quite sharp, however you can adjust the vinegar/olive oil ratio to make it a little more subtle if you prefer.  *Use whatever greens you have and/or like the flavour of.  Softer herbs are best.  I often use the softer parts of the herb stalks in these dips rather than throwing them away.  *If you would like this to be nut free use more pumpkin seeds in place of the almonds.  You may need to use a little more olive oil if you do so.  *To save power I roast the nuts and seeds in a 180°C oven at the same time along with the pumpkin for the roast pumpkin hummus.  *If you don’t have a Thermomix, use a food processor to make this dip.  *In this case the pumpkin seeds act as a cheese substitute and binds the dip together.

ease: 9/10. 
prep time: 5 minutes.
cooking time: 15 minutes in oven (can be done ahead)
total: 5 minutes.

taste: 9/10. We loved this dip.  It’s zingy, fresh, tastes great and is healthy.

would I make it again:  Yes.  I like to make this when I have greens and herbs leftover at the end of the week that I want to use up.  Friday night drinks and dip was never better.

roast pumpkin hummus – makes approximately 1 cup
Ingredients
1 clove garlic
500g cold roasted butternut pumpkin (see tips below)
1 tablespoon tahini
20g lemon juice
10g extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Preparation
Place garlic into TM bowl and chop for 2 seconds on speed 7.  Scrape down sides of bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix for 20 seconds on speed 4.  Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat if necessary.

Serve with crackers or vegetable pieces.

My tips: *I started with 600 – 700g butternut pumpkin, peeled it and removed the seeds.  Chopped it into approximately 4 – 5cm pieces, lightly coated with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, then cooked it in a 180°C oven for 20 minutes until softened.  *Normally hummus utilises chickpeas but I wanted this to be purely pumpkin.  *If you don’t have a Thermomix, use a food processor to make this dip.

ease: 9.5/10. 
prep time: 5 minutes.
cooking time: 20 minutes in oven (can be done ahead)
total: 5 minutes.

taste: 9/10. This is deliciously different.  It’s lighter and sweeter than normal hummus.

would I make it again:  Yes.  I think this would be great to serve to friends as something a little different.

beetroot dip – makes approximately 1½ cups
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic
10g olive oil
420g baby beetroot. drained (should end up with 300g beetroot)
100g greek style yoghurt
pinch ground cumin
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Preparation
Place garlic into TM bowl and chop for 2 seconds on speed 7.  Scrape down sides of bowl, add olive oil and sauté at 100°C for 3 minutes on speed 2.  Remove the bowl from the base and allow to stand on the bench to cool, this will take approximately 3 – 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients.  Set dial to closed lid position and pulse on Turbo mix for 1 second, repeat.  Check consistency and repeat if necessary.

Serve with crackers or vegetable pieces.

My tips: *Make sure that the bowl is cool before adding the remaining ingredients. *Be careful not to over process this as it can become sloppy.  *You can substitute the yoghurt with sour cream if you prefer.  *If you don’t have a Thermomix, use a food processor to make this dip.  *If you want to make this a litte different, add a little bit of fresh dill or coriander.

ease: 9.5/10. 
prep time: 7 minutes.
cooking time: 3 minutes 
total: 10 minutes.

taste: 9/10. This is sweet yet a little earthy.  A great summer snack.

would I make it again:  Yes.  The colour alone it quite impressive and it is good for us.

 

**If you would like to make these dips one after the other here’s how I do so.

– Chop all of the garlic at the beginning and set it aside.  Add the amount that you need for each dip when required.
– Make the dips in the order of the recipes ie healthy green dip, roast pumpkin hummus then beetroot dip (lightest to darkest).
– Scrap out the bowl well using the spatula or a silicone spoon.
– To get the most dip of the blades and out of the bowl before moving to e next one, place the dial on closed lid position, Turbo for 2 – 3 seconds.  Scrape out  mixture then repeat if necessary.

 

yeast-free crackers (lavosh)
Ingredients
100g milk
220g strong bread flour
20g olive oil
70g softened butter
1 ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes or to taste

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180°C (170°C fan-forced).  You will need a baking tray,  rolling pin and non-stick baking paper.  Place all ingredients into TM bowl.  Set dial to closed lid position and knead for 1 minute on Interval.  Remove dough and place on Thermomat.

Divide dough into four.  Place one piece in centre of Thermomat, place a piece of baking paper over the top.  Roll dough out to approximately 3mm thick.  Once rolled out, flip the whole thing over so that the baking paper is on the bottom with the Thermomat on the top.  Then gently peel the Thermomat off and place the baking paper with the dough onto a baking tray.  Place in a preheated oven and bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until golden brown.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cool, break into pieces and serve.

My tips: *I sometimes use my Thermomix spatula to cut these into shapes before baking them.  *You can sprinkle these with seeds, or grated Parmesan cheese.  *Store in an airtight container for 1 – 2 weeks.  *If you want these to be dairy free, you can try a non-dairy milk.  I haven’t tried it personally but it should work.

ease: 9/10. 
prep time: 20 minutes.
cooking time: 15 minutes in oven
total: 35 minutes.

taste: 9/10. These are better than the packets I used to buy from the supermarket.  I can make these whenever I like and they cost me a quarter of the price!

would I make it again:  All the time.  These are now a staple in our house.