Cheap easy Dips (Snacks and Standbys)

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	Snacks and Standbys
Date:	17/02/09 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, easy, good for you

Disadvantages: Each recipe requires a food processor

The Credit Crunch has really helped me to learn a lot of basics of cooking, here are a few cheap and easy dips, i've learned how to make as I can't see the point in paying for them at the moment, all are easy to make and require a food processor just for speed and ease of use, obviously give it a good clean before using it again though!!!

Hummus
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This is much easier to make than I ever imagined:

Ingredients:
2 Cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 400g tin of Chickpeas - Drained
Juice of 1 lemon
Black pepper - Just a good splash
One third of a cup of Tahini (Available at the Deli section of any decent Supermarket)

This is so simple to make, simply put the chopped garlic and drained chickpeas in the food processor and process, add the lemon juice, tahini and pepper and process until smooth. You can use Kidney beans instead of Chickpeas although i'd rather not. Once done transfer to a dish and sprinkle with paprika, it is possible to make variations, add some capsicum or peppers in the processor to develop your own flavours.
Serve your home made hummus with Pitta bread, or for a healthier option, fresh carrot sticks, celery or pepper slices.

TAPENADE
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Wonderful fishy olive flavoured dish, again lovely for dipping.

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted black olives
2 anchovy fillets in oil (Drained)
2 cloves garlic (Crushed)
3 tablespoons olive oil (Use Groundnut oil if you have an allergy)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
half a tablespoon of rinsed capers

You place all these ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth, it should come out as a lovely dark paste, with a distinctive flavour, you can always add more garlic, capers or anchovy to taste. Serve with pitta bread or veggie slices as in the previous recipe.

White Bean Dip
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I tried this recipe at the weekend i'm really trying to eat loads of pulses as they give you energy, fibre, are cheap and good for you, this needs seasoning to taste as you wish but is great with olives, cheese and crackers.

Ingredients:
1 400g tin of cannelini beans
1 clove garlic chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil (I use groundnut oil as my other half is allergic)
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 of those lemons
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon mixed herbs.

Whizz in the food processor and blend until smooth, you can add the herbs before or after whizzing depending how you want to present the dish and what texture you want.

Ok, so these dishes are nothing special but if you have garlic and lemons in the house and a decent store of tinned beans you can have a nice little dipping evening if you fancy a variety of flavours at very low prices. Once you've mastered these add your own flavours to taste.

Summary: Cheap easy Dips