Artichoke cream

Ingredients 1 artichoke, olive oil.

Preparation: 40 minutes

Artichokes are marvellous things. So creamy and unctious in texture but they are packed with enough flavour to add complexity to salads, tarts and pasta. This simple dip, whether used to spread onto some good bread or as a pasta sauce is so silky and luxurious.

1) Break the stem of the artichoke as close to the base as you can, then put the artichoke head first into a pan of hot, salted water and keep it submerged with an upturned pan lid (or plate). It will take 20-30 minutes to cook until tender - test the base with a knife - if it goes in smoothly it's ready!

2) Slice the artichoke leaves and add to the blender along with a generous glug of olive oil. Blitz until a soft puree has formed.

Carrot hummus

Ingredients 400g chickpeas (dried or canned), 1 bulb garlic, olive oil/Greek yoghurt, lemon juice, sesame seeds, 2 carrots (you can use sesame oil or tahini but personally I find them too bitter and prefer the texture of sesame seeds).

Hummus, ah hummus. One of the great wonders of the food world.
So delicious and versatile that I have not the words to describe my love for it. I have created several versions of hummus for this blog, from classic to broad bean (AGH!), beetroot to ginger and basil to salted caramel apple (yes really!) but this is my 9 month old son's favourite lunch so it's been on the menu regularly for the last 3 months.

1) If you are using dried chickpeas leave them to soak in cold water for a minimum of 6 hours (ideally 10-12) and cook them for 1 1/2 hours, changing the water frequently to avoid a bitter aftertaste.

2) If using canned chickpeas drain them and rinse well. It's entirely your choice whether you shell the chickpeas first - personally I prefer the texture with them shelled and find the process (pinching gently then shucking) very soothing! 

3) Peel and slice the carrots into chunks. Roast along with the entire bulb of garlic at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. Squeeze the garlic puree gently from the cloves into a food processor and add the carrots. Pulse until combined.

4) Place your chickpeas into your blender and pulse thoroughly, drizzling olive oil through until the desired texture has been reached. If you would prefer to make this lower in fat, you can use Greek yoghurt in place of olive oil.

5) Flavour to taste with lemon juice, tahini/sesame oil/sesame seeds and season with salt and a pinch of smoked paprika. Stir through and serve or store in the fridge.

Roast garlic & avocado dip

Ingredients 1 avocado, 2 garlic cloves, bread (I baked olive loaf this morning).

Serves: 4 Preparation: 15 minutes

There are some things I prepare for lunch that are so quick and simple that I hesitate to call them a recipe, but this was just too luscious not to share. 2 ingredients and some good bread and you have the perfect lunch or quick supper or a fabulous dip.

1) Roast the garlic cloves in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees. Peel the skins off and add to a blender.

2) Slice the avocado in half and use a tablespoon to scoop it from the shell. If the avocado is ripe enough the stone will pop out with a spoon but another good method is to prick it with a knife and pull it out. Add the avocado to the blender and pulse thoroughly until the mixture is smooth, creamy and the garlic has become thoroughly amalgamated. Season to taste.

3) Spread onto the bread or use for dunking crudites and crackers.

Beer dip

Ingredients 200g cream cheese, 20g cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup beer

Preparation: 1 hour

When making a pot of Mexican mole, one of my favourite ways to serve the leftovers is with nachos and cheese. This beer dip makes the most fabulous topping. Cool and malty and super simple to make.

1) Whip the cream cheese and the beer until smooth and season with salt to taste.

2) Stir through grated cheddar and refrigerate for at least an hour until it has set.

Beetroot hummus

Ingredients 1 beetroot, 1 can chickpeas, 1 clove garlic, orange juice, orange zest, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt.

Preparation: 35 minutes (plus soaking time if using dried chickpeas)

I adore hummus, Adam Sandler's Zohan has NOTHING on me! I had thought until recently that my ginger hummus was the best adaptation, but this beetroot hummus is absolutely marvellous and really does have the most fabulously exotic colour. 

1) If you are using dried chickpeas leave them to soak in cold water for a minimum of 6 hours (ideally 10-12) and cook them for 1 1/2 hours, changing the water frequently to avoid a bitter aftertaste.

2) If using canned chickpeas drain them and rinse well with cold water. It's entirely your choice whether you shell the chickpeas first - personally I prefer a bit of texture - but to shell them - Pour over boiling water and let them sit for 1 minute before straining, then pinching them gently to slide the chickpea from the shell.

3) To prepare the beetroot, wash it and slice off the stalks and leaves. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Carefully peel the beetroot with the nick of a knife.

4) Roast one clove of garlic in the oven for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the pureed garlic from the skin.

5) Place your chickpeas into a blender along with 1 tablespoon of greek yoghurt, a tablespoon of orange juice, salt and black pepper, the beetroot and the garlic and pulse thoroughly.

6) After blending thoroughly, stir through a little orange zest.

Feta & sesame poicamole

Ingredients 400g garden peas, feta, mint leaves, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, sesame seeds

Preparation: 10 minutes

One of my favourite recipes is poicamole, it's so fresh and delicious and I love to slather it on bread and tuck into a relatively healthy snack. Recently I was craving it but for some reason I had no parmeggian in the fridge.

1) Shell your peas (frozen peas are absolutely fine for this) and either boil or steam for 6-8 minutes.

2) Strain in a colander and pour the peas into a blender. Add a good handfull of chopped mint and start to blend.

3) As the peas are blending add teaspoons of greek yoghurt, a good pinch of salt, crumbled feta and pulse thoroughly. Serve on crackers or bread sprinkled with sesame seeds

Curly fries with avocado & cucumber mousse‏

Ingredients 1 avocado, 1/4 cucumber, mint, salt, potato, polenta, cayenne pepper

Preparation: 10 minutes

This recipe is unusual for me in that I am using equipment that few people are likely to have. This blog is aimed at people who want to learn to make very simple, but gorgeous food using ingredients that are widely available and do not require speciality equipment. I recently bought a spiralizer, which cuts vegetables into... you've guessed it... spiral strands or strips so that one can make curly fries or vegetable spaghetti so whether you want my recipe for the perfect spiral fries, or want to just make this delicious, fresh mousse... here you go!

1) Halve the avocado around the stone and twist it apart. Remove the stone and scoop the avocado flesh from the shell. Add to a blender with 2-3 mint leaves and 1/4 of a peeled cucumber then blitz thoroughly.

2) Season to taste with salt and chopped mint. This goes beautifully with something spicy - if you don't have a spiralizer, try seasoning potato or sweet potato wedges instead to dunk into it.

3) To make the curly fries: spiralize the potato and add to a bowl. Dust with polenta and shake the bowl until the potato is covered. Deep fry for 3-4 minutes and season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Ginger hummus

Ingredients   400g Chickpeas (dried or canned), garlic, sesame seeds, salt, Rachel's Organic Ginger Yoghurt

Preparation: 10 minutes (plus 12 if using dried)

I adore hummus. Whether dolloped onto a salad or a sandwich, scooped up with a crudite or cracker it's so versatile and a relatively healthy source of protein to a vegetarian such as myself. I've shared many flavours of hummus on this blog so far but this has been a triumph of epic proportions.

1) If you are using dried chickpeas leave them to soak in cold water for a minimum of 6 hours (ideally 10-12) and cook them for 1 1/2 hours, changing the water frequently to avoid a bitter aftertaste.

2) If using canned chickpeas drain them and rinse well with cold water. It's entirely your choice whether you shell the chickpeas first - personally I prefer a bit of texture!

3) Place your cooked / canned chickpeas into a blender or mortar and pestle along with two tablespoons of yoghurt and pulse thoroughly

4) Flavour with sesame seeds or tahini, crushed garlic, and salt to taste. Blend thoroughly and serve.

Harissa yoghurt

Ingredients Smoked chillis, garlic salt, paprika, mint, rose petals, cumin, caraway seeds, basil oil, Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt, bell pepper.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Harissa is a spice mix which hails from North African countries like Tunisia and Morocco and is used as a base for everything from dry meat rubs to a paste which can be spread on bread or added to sauces.
As you might expect there are thousands of recipes out there, from sharp and spicy to mellow smokey flavours, but my version - with a rose base - is universally gorgeous in my humble opinion. I like to mix it with yoghurt to make a dip (as pictured) or add to fajitas.

1) Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper, then roast until the skin is almost completely blackened. Allow it to cool, then peel off the charred skin carefully.

2) Blitz the dried, smoked chilli in a blender, then add to a mortar and pestle and grind into a relatively fine dry paste. The ratio of spices is relatively simple for my recipe, though of course you can adjust for taste. Add 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp caraway seeds and grind into the chilli. Add a teaspoon of basil oil.

3) Add the bell pepper, 2 or 3 mint leaves and the rose petals (about half the petals from a single red rose) into a blender and pulse.

4) Stir the rose, mint and pepper mixture into the spice and oil paste - now you have harissa!

5) Stir 1 teaspoon of Harissa per 200g of yoghurt.

Dukkah with romanesco broccoli

Ingredients     Sesame seeds, pistachios, himalayan pink sea salt, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, paprika, chilli powder, cumin seeds, romanesco broccoli, pumpkin oil, basil oil.

Serves: 5 preparation: 10 minutes


I'm introducing three elements to you with this recipe. Firstly Dukkah, an absolutely stunningly delicious Egyptian dry spice mix which is usually served with bread and dipping oils. Secondly pumpkin oil which I bought at the incredible Cornucopia at Leeds Corn Exchange this week. It's a fabulous healthy oil made from dry roasted cold pressed pumpkin seeds which is evocative of sesame oil but FAR nicer. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it would change Dukkah for me forever. Thirdly, romanesco broccoli which is a gorgeous vegetable comprising of fractal spirals of crunchiness with a creamy flavour somewhere in between broccoli and cauliflower. I can rarely bear to cook it, instead preferring to admire the vivid green colour and sink my teeth into it. I chose to dunk the florets into the pumpkin oil and dukkah today and may never eat it with bread again! YUM!


1) Add equal quantities of the seeds and nuts to a hot pan and toast them off for 1-2 minutes or until the mustard seeds begin to pop.


2) Transfer to a mortar and pestle along with the sea salt, paprika, chilli powder and black peppercorns and grind until you have a rough, gritty powder.


Dukkah can be kept sealed in a jar in the cupboard for some time and makes a fabulous, fabulous dry rub for meat. I mixed the pumpkin oil with a little basil oil to bring out the sweetness of the romanesco broccoli.

Pineapple guacamole

Ingredients 1 avocado, 2 tbsp pineapple, 1 jalepeno, coriander, 1 lime

Serves: 4 Preparation: 5 minutes

Avocado and pineapple are both such fickle beasts - avocado oxidises quickly and pineapple becomes fermented so it was only a matter of time before I brought them together to create another twist on my classic guacamole. This is fresh and tangy and utterly addictive.

1) Slice and de-seed the jalepeno and set to macerate in the juice of 1 lime.



2) Slice the avocado in half and remove the stone. Slice the flesh from the shell, taking care to scrape out the dark buttery outer layer of avocado. Pulse in a blender or mash until smooth. Add the jalepeno and a little of the lime juice and stir through.


3) Slice the top from the pineapple and peel off the skin with a knife. Slice the flesh away from the hard core and discard.


4) Dice the flesh and stir about 2 tablespoons into the guacamole. Stir through about a teaspoon of finely chopped coriander and serve - perfect with tortilla chips.

Lemon thyme & goats cheese mousse

Ingredients    1/2 cup whipping cream, 2 tbsp milk,   125g soft goats cheese, 1 tbsp lemon thyme

Serves: 4 Preparation: 10 minutes

I admit it, I am a total goats cheese addict. I used a fairly mild goats cheese with lemon notes to compliment the herbs, which made this mousse so delicate and light that it could almost go with anything!

1) Whip the cream until it has stiffened into soft peaks and set aside

2) Whisk together the milk and goats cheese until a paste has formed, season with salt and black pepper and freshly chopped lemon thyme.

3) Fold in the whipped cream until the goats cheese has been fully incorporated and serve.

Broad bean hummus

Ingredients Chickpeas (dried or canned), garlic,  olive oil, lemon juice, sesame seeds, salt, broad beans (dried or fresh).

Confession, I hate broadbeans. I can remember eating them at school - these big, hard grey THINGS from a tin that were mixed in with soggy carrot, peas and sweetcorn. I realised yesterday that I have avoided them my entire adult life and this is an ideal opportunity to prove my own philosophy that if you don't like something, it just hasn't been made properly!
Do you know what? I still don't like broad beans, but at least here they are somewhat diluted. *shudder*


1) If you are using dried chickpeas and beans leave them to soak in cold water for a minimum of 6 hours (ideally 10-12) and cook them for 1 1/2 hours it hot salted water, changing the water frequently to avoid a bitter aftertaste.


2) If using fresh beans, cook for 4 minutes in hot salted water. For canned chickpeas drain them and rinse well with cold water. It's entirely your choice whether you shell the chickpeas first, but do shell the broad beans!


3) Place your beans and chickpeas into a blender or mortar and pestle along with two tablespoons of water and pulse thoroughly.


4) Roast 2 cloves of garlic in the skin for 25 minutes and squeeze the pureed garlic into the chickpea and broad bean mixture.


5) Flavour with sesame seeds or tahini, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt to taste. After blending thoroughly, serve.

Wensleydale & stem ginger dip

Ingredients Wensleydale, cream cheese, stem ginger.

1) Grate Wensleydale into 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and whisk on a low heat. Stir through the pieces of stem ginger and set aside to cool.


Ideal served with steamed vegetables for dipping.

Rosemary fougasse

Ingredients Cream, lemon, garlic, bell pepper, passata, basil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, yeast, strong white flour, salt, olive oil.

1) To make the fougasse, mix 1 teaspoon of yeast in 300ml tepid water.


2) Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt with 500g strong white bread flour and make a well in the centre of the flour. Pour in the water along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil bit by bit as your mix the dough together. 


3) Transfer to a well floured surface and knead firmly for 10 minutes. Once the dough is no longer sticky, and is elastic transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and leave to rise somewhere warm for an hour to an hour and a half or until it has doubled in size.


4) Knock it back and kneed for 2 minutes, then form a flattened triangle with the dough and slice through the middle like the spine of a leaf. Cut 3 slashes in both edges and transfer to a pizza stone. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and rock salt and bake for 20 - 25 minutes with a bowl of water in the edge to form a nice crust. Tear off pieces of bread and dunk into the dips.


To make the dips


1) Roast a bulb of garlic in the oven for 30 minutes, squeeze the garlic from the skin and crushing it in a garlic press. Stir into soured cream and chill.


2) Roast 2 bell peppers for 30 minutes and blend along with a tablespoon of passata tomatoes, a splash of balsamic vinegar and a handful of chopped basil.

Cheese & chive dip

Ingredients Double cream, lemon, chives, salt, cheddar

When I got this request through, I actually thought that it was a joke! Like the time I got a request for cheese on toast... but it was genuine so here is my recipe for cheese & chive dip. The ideal partner for Fudge's cheddar wafers.


1) To make soured cream, all you need to do is whip a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt through and continue whipping until the cream has thickened a little. You can use single or double cream for this.


2) Grate a lump of good strong cheddar (this dip works best with 1 part cheese to 2 parts soured cream) and chop fresh chives onto the dip.


And that's it! You're done - it's best left to chill in the fridge for an hour before serving. If you would prefer to be a little more low-fat, this dip can be made using creme fraiche but it will not have the thicker consistency of soured cream.

Tempura bacon with Wensleydale & cranberry dip

Ingredients  Baking powder, plain white flour, bacon, salt, ice water. cream cheese, wensleydale with cranberries, soured cream.

Tempura batter must be very cold and very fresh - put a jug of ice water in the freezer whilst you heat up the oil for frying and only add the water at the last possible second.


1) This recipe works best with pre-grilled, cold bacon. To make the batter mix 250g of flour, 10g of baking powder and a pinch of salt, then whisk through the water a little at a time until the batter is liquid enough to coat your finger.


2) Dip the bacon in the batter and drop into the hot oil for 1-2 minutes


3) To prepare the dip, crumble the Wensleydale and cranberry cheese into a tablespoon of cream cheese and a tablespoon of soured cream and warm on a low heat.

Sun dried tomato tapenade

Ingredients   Kamalata olives, sun dried tomatoes, capers, olive oil

Tapenade is traditionally made with olives, pickled capers and anchovies. Personally I do not like fish so I skip the anchovies and replace the strong, salty flavour with sun dried tomato which works equally as well.


1) Pit the olives (for the love of Bowie don't buy pre-pitted olives, especially from a jar. They have no flavour and the consistency of rubber) and remove the stalks of the capers.


2) Add into a blender along with the tomatoes and capers. I mix 3 parts olives to 1 part tomatoes and capers but this should be entirely to taste.


I served this with La Brea olive loaf but watch out for a future recipe using this tapenade!

Baked Camembert

Ingredients    Camembert (I always buy Le Rustique by Jean Verrier)

If you like fondue - baked camembert is the perfect dip for you!


1) Remove the cheese from the box and slice the top layer of rind with a hot, sharp knife. 


2) Replace the "lid" of the cheese and return the cheese to the box.


3) Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, then serve with crudites.


I served this with Fudge's cheese straws with black pepper and mature cheddar  but it would also go wonderfully with carrot batons, sliced bell peppers or if you're insane, celery *shudders* (there should be no excuse for celery, it is repugnant)

Basil Hummus

Ingredients Chickpeas (dried or canned), garlic, sesame seeds, salt, basil leaves, basil oil, pine nuts

1) If you are using dried chickpeas leave them to soak in cold water for a minimum of 6 hours (ideally 10-12) and cook them for 1 1/2 hours, changing the water frequently to avoid a bitter aftertaste.

2) If using canned chickpeas drain them and rinse well with cold water. It's entirely your choice whether you shell the chickpeas first - personally I prefer a bit of texture!

3) Place your cooked / canned chickpeas into a blender or mortar and pestle along with two tablespoons of water and pulse. Add two tablespoons of water and pulse thoroughly

4) Finely slice a good handful of fresh basil leaves and add to a mortar bowl. Sautee 1 clove of garlic in basil oil and add to the mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and a handful of pine nuts.
Grind thoroughly and stir into the hummus.

I served this with marinated olives (for the love of Bowie don't buy pitted olives, especially not soaked in brine, they're the flavour and texture of rubber! Buy whole ones and pit them right before eating them) and Fudge's cheese straws with black pepper and mature cheddar.