Double Dip

These are a couple of Turkish inspired dips that you can use with almost anything. Perfect with celery sticks, cucumber slices or flax crackers, delicious with salad stuffed into a large leaf of romaine and great on their own as a soup if you add a little extra water.

 

Zucchini & Avocado Dip

The flavour of this dip reminds me of Mucver (pronounced MOOSH-vair), the zucchini fritters often served in a mixed vegetarian kebab or as an entree in Turkish restaurants.

1 Large Zucchini

1 Medium Avocado

1 Tsp Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt

Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

1 Tsp Cumin

1 Tsp Tumeric

1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 Large Clove Garlic

Chop up the zucchini, avocado and garlic into smaller pieces.
Add with the remaining ingredients to your food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth.
You can add a little water if the dip seems too thick.

 

Beetroot Dip

This was once a favourite of mine in vege kebabs. The traditional version sometimes has yoghurt which I have substituted here with brazil nuts although you could easily use cashews or macadamias or omit them all together if you are looking for a nut free version.

1 large beetroot

20 soaked brazil nuts

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 Large Clove Garlic

1 Tsp Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt

Chop up the beetroot and garlic into smaller pieces.
Add with the remaining ingredients to your food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth.
You can add a little water if the dip seems too thick.

 

Both of these dips should keep for a week in an airtight container in the fridge.

Zucchini Linguine with Basil Pesto

I made this dish for a raw potluck this weekend. There are plenty of cheap organic zucchini and tomatoes at the Victoria Street farmers market in Wellington now that it’s near the end of summer.  I also picked up the basil there for the pesto. All the classic italian flavours are there which makes this a favourite for friends and family who are not raw. You can make a big batch of pesto up to keep for the week and just do the zucchini on the night.

Basil Pesto

2 Cups Tightly Packed Basil

1/2 Cup Pine Nuts

1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Clove Garlic

1/2 Tsp Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt

1/4 Cup Cold Pressed Olive Oil

Spring or Filtered Water

Method

Soak the pinenuts and pumpkin seeds for at least 4 hours. Drain and rinse.

Place all ingredients apart from the water into a food processor and process until almost smooth. You still want a little texture to it. Add a little water at a time if it seems too dry.

Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week.

Zucchini Linguini

3 Large Zucchini

2 Medium Tomatoes

8-10 Dried Olives

1/2 Red Capsicum

2 Tbsp Pine Nuts

1/2 Cup Basil Pesto

Method

Use a julienne peeler to slice the zucchini lengthways into long noodles and place in a large bowl. You could also use a spiralizer.

Chop the tomatoes and capsicum, destone and chop the olives and add these with the pine nuts to the zucchini.

Add the pesto and mix thoroughly to combine.

Leave to sit for 1hour before serving if you would like the noodles to soften a bit.