Spicy Guacamole

With the stew sorted, I left producing the dips until closer to the time the guests were arriving, especially as guacamole has a tendency to go brown if made to far in advance. The hummus recipe was pretty well as before, only with the addition of fresh coriander. For the guacamole recipe, I got my inspiration from The Mens Cookery Club website and pretty well made it the same way they did, although with a couple of differences.

Guacamole Recipe

• 3 Avocados
• 4 Gloves of Garlic (crushed)
• 3-4 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• Up to half a teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
• Small handful of Fresh Coriander
• Juice from 1 Lime
• Salt and Pepper

Like them, I did it all in the blender. You could use a fork, but throwing everything in the blender for a quick spin just seems to make sense. However, with the garlic, I tend to crush it, then leave it for a minute or two before continuing the blitzing, as I do with the Hummus. Then add the rest of the ingredients, blitz together, taste and re-season if necessary. Then after putting it into the bowl, squeeze over the last bit of juice from the lime.

I made this just as people were showing up, as I didn't want it to turn brown, but to be honest, I think the lime juice prevents that pretty much as although the bowl was out and had some dregs left in the bottom, it didn't turn brown all and tasted great.

Still, I really like their website. Great fun, and some useful tips and recipes. Definitely worth a read.

Still Hungry?... Okay... Hummus and Pitta

Dave and Mark turned up late, and after a fairly ample portion of Spag Bog, still wanted more food. So, as I tend to ensure I have a spare can of chickpeas in the cupboard these days, I blended up some more Home-made Hummus, only as I didn't have red pepper, I used yellow pepper. Still tasted good, but I think red pepper is better for me. I know pepper isn't necessary, but I think it definitely improves the flavour if you have one.

Served with toasted Pitta bread, bread sticks and some carrot julienne. Definitely going to make some of the red pepper variety at the next poker night, along with some guacamole. Still undecided on the main course.

Homemade Hummus

I couldn't find any tahini in the shop, so decided to just get a load of sesame seeds and make my own. Also, I put small red pepper in there to sweeten it up. I got given a new blender for Christmas, and wanted to try it out, so this went down will with some cheese and onion bread. Really easy to make with a good blender.

Recipe for the Tahini

• 2 tablespoons Sesame Seeds
• Half teaspoon Sesame Oil
• Few tablespoons Tepid Water

Blitz the sesame seeds in the blender, then add the other ingredients, adding the water until you have a thin paste.

Recipe for the Hummus

• 400g can of Chickpeas
• Juice of a Lemon
• 2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 4 cloves of Garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• 1 small Red pepper, de-seeded, de-veined and chopped
• Salt and Pepper

Add the Chickpeas to the tahini in the blender and blend until a paste. Then add the other ingredients and continue to blend until the hummus starts turning a bit redder in colour. You can use right away, or store in the fridge before using.