I decided to revisit a few of my dips recently, it’s been a while since I’ve lived up to my ‘dip queen’ title! I make homous and dips weekly, but don’t always post them, I don’t want to bore anyone, but this little trio was so tasty with the roasted cauliflower, I thought I’d share it…
I roasted the cauliflower in a drizzle of olive oil and towards the end of its cooking time, I threw over some za’atar, then put it back in the oven for a little while. That way the herbs, spices and sesame seeds in the za’atar wouldn’t burn, but would have long enough to add their flavour to the cauliflower.
On the subject of cauliflower..it’s great that it’s become such a popular vegetable and that people are discovering so many ways to cook with it, but at my local market it’s now become too expensive for them to even stock! Oh well, it forces me to experiment with other veg I guess…
Onto the muhammara..
This is a middle eastern dip made with roasted red peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. I was asked to the describe the flavour recently and I struggled to do it justice; there’s the sweetness of the red peppers, plus the slight sourness of the lemon juice and molasses, with the lovely addition of the walnuts..impossible to find the words! You’ll have to try it 🙂
I’ve made this before, it was on my blog in the very early days of its existence, this is my chance share it again, with better photos!!!
Muhammara
Ingredients
2 large red peppers (I like using the long red ones)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4 – 1/2 tsp chilli powder (depending on your taste)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baharat/Arabic 7 spice mix
1.5 cups of fresh walnuts
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup ground almonds (traditionally this would be breadcrumbs, but I like it with the ground almonds)
Method
Roast the peppers whole in the oven for 5-10 minutes, turning half way through, until you can feel that they are completely soft
Remove them from the oven and place them in a plastic bag for a few minutes; this will make it easier to remove the skins
When they are cool enough to handle, remove the stalks, skins and seeds and put the flesh into your blender
Add all of the other ingredients and blend, but not too much, you want a grainy texture
Enjoy!
Next, the red pepper and sriracha homous..
Whilst roasting the red peppers for the muhammara, I added in some more to make this..
Ingredients
2 large red peppers, roasted and skins & seeds removed as above
150g drained cooked chickpeas
50g tahini
1 tsp paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce (to your taste)
Method
Whizz it all up in your blender
And lastly the chermoula homous..
Having made up some standard homous as well as the red pepper one above, I stirred in some of my recently made chermoula; the two together really compliment each other and create a lovely dip.
A table filled with colour and flavour, perfect for any day of any week (as far as I’m concerned that is!).
I also made Linda’s lovely Algerian bread ‘khobz tajine’ again to go with it all..
You still have it Dip Queen
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Yay! Thank you 😀😀
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You certainly earn your title of “Dip Queen,” Elaine! The dips and bread look very tempting, yum! 🙂 I think for vegetarians, dips are a great way of adding flavour and a bit of extra protein too, which I sometimes struggle with. I had no idea that cauliflower had gotten so expensive, it used to be the vegetable no one wanted to eat, at least around here. But that never bothered us because it’s so commonly used in Indian cooking, as you know, and so my parents were always happy to buy it and that it was so affordable. Hm, is it just popularity that’s made it more expensive? Just curious! xo
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I completely agree with you, as always, I add some sort of dip or sauce to every meal I eat to add in protein. Tahini is often my main protein in a meal!!
And cauliflower…yes, it was always written off as the boring overcooked veg with a Sunday roast, but now it’s the new king of vegetables!
Thank you, I’m glad you like my offering xx
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I love tahini too! Ha ha, it’s funny that cauliflower is finally getting its 15 minutes, but as you say, that can be a little prohibitive! I loved your offering, thanks for sharing 🙂 xo
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Anything that becomes popular becomes more expensive doesn’t it???
Wonderful – a fellow tahini lover ❤️❤️❤️ we have so much in common!!
xxx
PS have emailed you x
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Delicious looking dips, thank you for reposting them so those of us who have come late to the table can enjoy them. Lovely colors, they would be wonderful with that crusty cauliflower.
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Thank you so much, I’m glad you like it.
I’ve been looking through old posts and seeing food that I want to make and share again, hence this post 🙂
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I am very disappointed because I was not the first to grant you the Dip Queen title… I guess I need to move faster, or maybe move to Europe so that I get your posts earlier! Australia might be better!
seriously, though – these are great, not only the flavors that are so different from each other, but the colors… fantastic!
I am a lover of cauliflower in all its forms – just saw a recipe for cauli “meatballs” and I might give them a try soon
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Just move here and try all the food before it even gets on the blog!!!! How’s that for a plan??!
Ooh, cauliflower meat balls….nice! I look forward to seeing them on your blog soon xxxx
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It might take me a while, so in case you’d like to try it first, here is the link (she uses some commercial product, but of course we can substitute homemade) – http://pinchofyum.com/30-minute-vegetarian-meatballs
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Okay, thank you 😀😀 I’ll have to see if I can load her page, every time I try and visit Pinch of Yum it won’t load on my iPad..😕
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I love each and every one of the dips and that roasted cauliflower looks so good. You are so talented I love all the flavors you come up with.
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Thank you so much 😘😘😘😘
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Gorgeous Elaine and I’d never bore of your dips. Good tip too on adding spice to cauliflower towards end of roasting – I’ve been adding at the start and burning it….
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Thank you, and I’m glad that is useful 😀😀😀
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I wish I could buy your dips, Elaine. I’d eat them all day long.
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And I’d happily make them for you all day long xxx
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You create the most ah-mazing veggie foods/dips/whatever Elaine! If I didn’t like bacon so much… 😮
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Thank you….and that’s okay, just eat them alongside the bacon 😀😀
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God this looks good! I want cauli and I want some of those dips now!
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I would happily share them with you if I could 😀😀😀
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Definitely a BIG FAT YUM from me too.. the entire spread looks so tempting 🙂
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Thank you 😀😀
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They look amazing, beautiful colours too. You are definitely Dip Queen xxx
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Ha ha! Thank you x x x
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Ooh they looks so good!! I want to try them all!
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Yay!! 😀😀😀😀
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Lovely dips Elaine! The cauliflower looks so good and I love the idea of pairing it with dips.
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Thank you 😀😀😀 this is a very typical meal for me ☺️
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Dip Queen!! Never boring!! Hey, I love that Algerian bread. I notice how cauliflower has become expensive here too. What other veggies do you like with these dips and sauces? Aubergine, I know. What else? Maybe roasted sweet potatoes or other squashes. I love just daydreaming about it!
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All of the above really, any roasted vegetables are good 🙂 either that or raw carrots and peppers, or roasted carrots and red onions…the possibilities are endless!!!
X
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Oh yeah!!
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Interesting that the cauliflowers have crept up in price over there too..it’s definitely a case of supply and demand!
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Yes, I guess it’s the grain-free (or grain averse) culture we have going on. I think some of the information about wheat (and corn) is interesting, but I think we’re missing important nutrients by cutting all grains. Anyway, I guess cauliflower is the popular substitute.
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Yes, and all of the amazing things you can make with cauliflower. Personally, I like my grains, I think you need both. My stomach is a lot less sensitive to gluten nowadays but I would still only have gluten with one meal a day, any more than that and I blow up.
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I like both too. I do know people are sensitive to gluten and I’m glad things are labeled more clearly so people can be careful if they need to. Luckily, there are lots of grains. Do you ever pick up “ancient grains?” I snap up kamut whenever I see it, because I make muffins for Pete with it. I think it’s less problematic for people. Wait! Do you think people have made cauliflower muffins yet ;)??
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I think they probably have!
And yes, I like the ancient grains, right now, right this second, I have a loaf of bread in the oven which includes kamut flour 🙂
In the UK there’s currently a buzz about ‘siyez’ another ancient grain, a bit like spelt apparently?
I like freekeh too, it’s got such a lovely flavour..
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I’ll look for siyez! And freekeh, which I’ve had in the past. I’m baking bread today too😘
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This is Ben’s first loaf 🙂 under my guidance, he put it all together, and it looks great!
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Good job Ben!! He has an excellent teacher. I’m baking two loaves for my friend who has a birthday today😊
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Lovely xx what a good friend you are 😘😘
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Oh my this looks drooolicious… you are just awesome Elaine. .. love each and every dishes(esp dips) from your kitchen… 👌
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Thank you so much Chitra xxx
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Nice to see the recipes all in one place. I can’t believe cauliflower is too expensive to stock now though. A few years back farmers were stopping growing it because it was so unpopular, and look at it now. I even have a Pinterest page called Cauliflower is the new black!
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I know, it just shows how things can change. The greengrocer at the market said that it would cost THEM £1.99 to buy a cauliflower from their supplier, so what on earth would the cost be to us??? I can totally understand why they chose not to stock it at those prices..
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This is certainly very good! Gonna bookmark this!
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Thank you 😘😘😘
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I love cauliflower, can’t believe it’s so expensive! too bad. Yumm the zatar would add so much flavor. Love it all Elaine! xx
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Thank you xxx
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yummm
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It is sad how expensive cauliflower has gotten. Roasted and served with these dips it would indeed be fantastic.
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It was lovely, but it ends up being an expensive lunch!
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You are a powerhouse, Elaine! It all looks soooo wonderful, and healthy too! 😀
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Thank you 😘😘
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Just wanted to have a look at your muhammara recipe as I know you make some fantastic dips! Yours sounds lovely with the baharat in it and the ground almonds instead of breadcrumbs – something for me to try next time.
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I hope you like it too 😊
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