|
DIPS AND SPREADS It started with the hummus - I bought sprouted garbanzos at the the farmers' market and made fresh hummus so quickly, and it was such a crowd pleaser, that it quickly became a staple in my house. It was an excellent thing to have on hand if guests dropped by. A plate of hummus, some olives, a good bread, open that bottle of wine and voila - the party was rolling while I cooked dinner. (I gave that recipe here in December - look for it in the archive.) But I found that hummus was also the new favorite after-school food. I live with teenaged boys and when they need to eat, they're not kidding. They come into the house in the afternoon and the refrigerator is the first stop. Whatever is ready and in front is what they will grab and eat. Over the years I've made a habit of keeping platters of fruit on the counter, good bread in the cupboard, and now - hummus in the fridge. Soon I was tinkering with flavors, adding roasted red peppers and smoky chipotle, or olives and oregano. Nutritious dips and spreads were the ticket, I decided, and I should expand the repertoire. I wanted to make a dip reminiscent of the thousand-calories-a-bite spinach dip I've often tasted at parties, but I didn't want to go down that slippery slope. Yogurt cheese was the answer - a base of yogurt cheese, pretty nearly nonfat. To that I added lots of spinach, shredded and sautéd with plenty of garlic and a little olive oil. I threw in one well caramelized onion and some oregano from the garden, and then finished it with a small amount of tangy feta cheese, enough to enliven the flavor but not dominate it. The spinach dip (more of a spread, really) was a howling success, but my next foray into dips is my hands-down favorite: the marbled cannellini dip with roasted tomatoes (see this month's new recipe). The idea at the outset was to make a simple dip with white cannellini, some oil, oregano and lemon juice, and stir in a few chopped Greek olives and some oven-roasted tomatoes. I put the tomatoes in to roast, and blasted everything else together in the food processor. Hours later, I took the slow roasted tomatoes out of the oven and scooped the dark, concentrated pulp into a bowl. I was enchanted by the rich color, and instead of stirring them into the dip, I spread the cream-colored bean mixture in a shallow bowl and spooned some of the glossy, dark red tomatoes into the center. As we ate, dipping in with a spoon or a cracker, the two became marbled. This was delicious on crostini, and would be just as good with focaccia or toasted pita triangles. Dips used to be bowls full of mayonnaise and sour cream with a savory or piquant flavoring added. The ones I have described are made mostly of vegetables or legumes, are high in protein and full of robust flavor. They are great to have on hand for casual weekends when you might want to cook more, but then again you might not. They taste rich but are not high in fat, so you can relax and enjoy yourself over a drink with friends, or feel fine about leaving them in that spot for the teenagers to find after school.
|