Bored with your usual SNACKS? Then try this delicious red pepper dip using simple ingredients, EASY to make, HEALTHY and versatile too. Did I say tasty as well? It’s really versatile as the concentrated red pepper paste you end up making is a super base for pasta sauce and great to serve on the side of any kind of fried fish or cold meats and try spreading it onto sandwiches or tortillas before you fill them! Great idea for meal prep too.
Easy Red Pepper Dip
Great in front of the tv snack with some crackers, crisps or tortilla chips, spicy tapioca chips (as shown above) and much better than anything processed straight from a jar! See how we’ve added labneh to make it into a perfect dressing for salad or as a lighter dip.
This recipe would be so easy to make in a THERMOMIX if you have one, but a simple processor will also work fine.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium red peppers
- 1 tablespoon of good olive oil
- Salt/Pepper/chilli oil
- Dessertspoon of capers drained
- 2 garlic cloves
- Little brown sugar
- Anchovy paste or 2 fresh anchovies if you LIKE that fishy, salty taste
- Some labneh to lighten if you like or use a little creme fraiche
HOW TO MAKE
- Halve and deseed 3 fresh red peppers (so 6 pieces), place open side up on a baking sheet
- Make a simple marinade with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 crushed garlic cloves, half a teaspoon of brown sugar and salt and pepper
- Drizzle generously over the peppers and then roast the marinaded peppers slowly at 180c until they have really shrunk and charring but not burnt
- When cool put peppers in a blender goblet or thermomix jar along with
- 1 dessertspoon of capers
- 3 anchovies (tinned are fine and I use the rule of 1 anchovy per pepper / anchovy paste)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper
- Half a deseeded red chili or a teaspoon of chilli oil
- Whiz up the mixture until it resembles a thick puree
- Put into an airtight container; it can be kept for up to three days
- To serve add a tablespoon of fresh labneh to lighten the mixture up; this also makes it go further
In praise of Labneh
I only started using Labneh in Dubai (not sure you can get it in London?) I use it as I would Creme Fraiche or light fromage frais. It’s great for savoury recipes not so good for sweet things although you could add sugar. BUT it’s so much more reasonably priced compared to the ready-made equivalents ! Dhs 39 a kilo so I buy a medium tub for about Dhs 10 and keep in the fridge. Add a teaspoon of dijon mustard and season instead of your usual jar of mayonnaise and and see if you like the results. It’s certainly lighter and less processed.
Have concentrated as it is or lighten with labneh/crème fraiche
Make your own chlli oil using some grapeseed oil and fresh chopped red chillis. Store in the fridge and use sparingly for a zingy kick
Try this dip on a bagel cut like this!
