roasted capsicum and coconut dip

'Tis the silly season and I'm pretty happy about it. The countdown is now on. But unlike my childhood years my christmas excitement is less directed towards christmas morning and presents from Santa, and more about the days surrounding the 25th - family arriving from different corners, lots of food to cook and enjoy, reunions with old friends returning to their home towns, and lazy post-christmas-day holidays spent eating left overs, lapping up some sunshine and reflecting on what's hopefully been for all - a pretty good year. 

There are always a lot of people around my family christmas, and there's one thing my mother has taught me about hosting guests - there should always be a platter! Growing up, whenever we had visitors (at any time of the year), my sister and I were on lock down. Before guests would arrive, no one could leave the house until every room was spring cleaned - bathroom taps polished and dust out of all the cracks and corners and all. This mad cleaning schedule meant that by the time people were arriving Mum was literally jumping through the shower and getting herself ready as they were walking up the drive. And so, it became my job to put together a platter of delicious nibbles, because there was absolutely no time left for Mum to do it, but she insisted we couldn't possibly go without. And so, with the fridge at my disposal I could put together my own foody-work-of-art - which at age 12, made me feel quite grownup and important. Many years on, if I am at home and we've friends coming over, by default it is my job to put together a platter.

So with christmas at my parents just around the corner and more family visitors and guests popping in then you can count - it is crucial that the fridge is fully stocked with platter goodies. This year I plan to make up a few bulk pestos (check out two I've whipped up here and here), a classic hummus and then one dip that is a little different - roasted capsicum and coconut dip. That way I know I'll be prepared the minute someone walks in the door. I can throw together a selection of dips, some crackers or crunchy bread, some cheese if I fancy and I think I'll have myself some happy customers. 

The flavour combo in today's dish is quite special. The sweetness of the roasted capsicums sit so beautifully with the creamy coconut - it gives off quite a thai-style flavour burst. It's super easy to put together and if you make a load of it, you'll find yourself grabbing it from the fridge for more than just a platter essential - I love to throw it through some pasta as a quick and easy sauce, (if you try my zucchini fettucini recipe, it works well as a replacement for the pesto and completely changes the dishes taste-profile). I also like to have it on hand for a mid afternoon snack with some freshly chopped vegetables.  









roasted red capsicum and coconut dip

4 large or 5 medium capsicums (red, orange or yellow are best)
1 Tbls coconut or olive oil
1 large kumara/red potato - chopped in to small cubes
3 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
1 tsp rock salt or flaky sea salt
juice of 1 lemon
1 finely diced small red chilli (optional)
1 Tbls extra coconut oil (optional for boosted flavour)
1 cup cannelini beans
1/2 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup olive oil
water to thin

Heat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Prepare kumara and place in a roasting dish with a little olive oil. Rub the capsicums with your choice of olive or coconut oil and place in a separate roasting dish. Put both dishes in the oven. Leave the Kumara till it turns golden and starts to crisp (about 20 minutes), remove from the oven and leave to cool. Check Capsicums after 15/20 mins and turn them. The bottom side should be turning a dark roasted brown colour and starting to blister. Continue cooking and turning till their whole surface has taken on the blistering brown complexion about 40-50 mins (see pictures above and below). Remove from oven and leave to cool. If you have the time, cover them while cooling as this will help them sweat and make their skins easy to remove. 

Once the capsicums have cooled to at least room temperature peel their skins and remove their green stalk and seeds. Add the capsicum flesh, along with the roasted kumara, garlic, salt, lemon juice and optional chilli and coconut oil to a food processor. Pulse and blend till all ingredients are well combined. Next add the beans and coconut cream and blend together. Leaving the food processor on slowly pour oil through the top shoot. Turn off the processor and try the mixture. Let your tast buds decides whether it needs a little more salt, chilli or water to thin the consistency. I like this dip quite smooth and velvety, so leave the processor running for a few minutes, but it is delicious left chunky too. You may need to help your food processor along and mix in any ingredients that run up the side of the bowl.

I love whipping this out for my friends as it has such an interesting flavour and is something a little different to add to your christmas menu!

roasted broccoli pesto

I'd always considered pesto to be one of those luxury items - It’s not cheap, but I know my fridge feels a lot happier when it’s perched on the top shelf. So I decided I should master my own pesto recipe. I've been experimenting and as it turns out, it's one of the easiest things to make – chuck everything in a food processor, turn switch on, turn switch off, DONE!

On top of that you can’t really go wrong with pesto. There are many different flavour combos you can play with. Below is one of my favourites out of the 101 batches I’ve been whipping up in my kitchen as of late.

Let’s not forget, that this kitchen I speak of is currently located in Korea. Korea is no doubt home to some delicious cuisine, however something this country hasn’t quite mastered is cheese. When I found a very small $17 wedge of Parmesan imported from halfway across the world, I couldn’t bring myself to purchase it - my wallet was dry and the parmy had to suffer.

So I tried making pesto without Parmesan and it ended up working in my favour. See, I’ve been trying to create some delicious dishes that are food-friendly for everyone. This recipe is dairy-free but still has that super rich dairy like quality that I know so many us love.

And then there’s the broccoli. A while back when I was roasting some vegetables, I had a side of broccoli on the go to steam. One ninja floret snuck its way into the roasting dish and what came of it was an out-of-this-world food experience! Roasted broccoli takes on a whole new flavour. It’s crunchy, nutty and… cheesy! That’s right, it has a yummy rich cheese-like flavour I can not stop eating.

Combine this taste with my latest pesto obsession and you’ve got yourself one kick-ass pesto recipe that I eat with just about everything. I’ll have it on crackers, with vegetable sticks, mixed through zucchini pasta (recipe to come), added on top of any salad, spread on toast with a poached egg, and… Yes, straight off the spoon from the jar on the top shelf of my very happy fridge. 

roasted broccoli pesto

1 large head of broccoli - cut in to small florets

1 clove garlic 

1 cup of raw almonds* 

1 handful of spinach 

juice of half a lemon**

1/2 Tsp of salt or more to taste

1/2 Tsp freshly milled black pepper

3/4 cup olive oil

Arrange broccoli florets on a very lightly olive-oiled roasting pan or baking dish (the florets need surprisingly little oil to roast). Bake in the oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes or until broccoli is crispy to bite and has dark golden edges. Don't be afraid to let them really brown up. Turn florets once during cooking. Set aside and leave to cool.

Dry toast your almonds in an oven for approx 12 mins on bake at 180C or 8 minutes on grill, turning once. You will know they are done when you bite into one and the centre colour has turned a lovely golden. Set aside to cool before continuing to the next step. 

If you have a food processor that is capable of finely chopping garlic, first add the garlic and blend (otherwise you may have to finely chop by hand first). Add the almonds to the food processor and pulse till they are broken up but still a little chunky. 

Add all other ingredients except the olive oil and turn processor on. Once everything begins to come together pour in oil while continuing to blend. You may need to stop it and help things along by giving it a stir. If you like a runnier pesto, add a little more oil or water. Season more to taste if you like.

Store in a container in the fridge, drizzling a little olive oil on top to prevent it from drying out. This pesto ages beautifully - after a day or two see if you can notice the flavours intensifying. Yum and Done!

Note: I'm working with an unusual little oven in my apartment here in Korea. I definitely had to adjust my usual cooking times and temperatures. So, just keep an eye on the almonds and broccoli when toasting and roasting!

* To keep things a little more affordable feel free to cut down on almonds by 1/3 - 1/2 and replace with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or another nut of your liking.

** I like my pesto with a real lemon punch and use the juice of a whole lemon. You can always add the juice of a quarter or half to start if you think it will be too strong.