Tart London: How to make a trio of delicious dips and dressings

Jemima Jones and Lucy Carr-Ellison whip up a trio of delicious dips and dressings
Lucy Carr-Ellison6 October 2016

We were recently at The Big Feastival, Jamie Oliver and Alex James’s foodie fest in Oxfordshire, giving a talk on Tarty dips. Dressing and salsas often form the basis of our favourite recipes. The way we approach a dish or dishes is to think not just about taste, but texture, colour, and whether it’s hot or cold, sweet or sour, spicy or creamy.

We’re always thinking of ways to make a dish more exciting and look more beautiful. An easy way to achieve this is with a punchy dressing or sensational mouth-tingling sauce. Dressings are not just for salads; they can be used to jazz up some boring veggies you have taken into work, employed as a dip or marinade, or introduced to give a new twist to an old favourite.

Here, we share three of our best-loved and incredibly easy-to-make favourites. The jalapeño avocado pesto is a Tart classic. We use it all the time. It works brilliantly dolloped over sweet potato wedges, added to any salad or simply served with crunchy vegetables.

The smokey harissa is excellent with an avocado bruschetta and poached egg. Lastly, the whipped goat’s butter makes a sensational canapé and a wonderful accompaniment to radishes (a tip from Jemima’s mum). Chopping by hand is great, but we would be lost without our food processors. Two of the recipes here are blitzed in seconds in our trusty old whizzers.

JALAPEÑO AVOCADO PESTO

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 shallot, peeled

1 jar green jalapeños, drained

1 avocado, peeled and stone removed

100g cashew nuts

25g coriander

25g basil

Squirt of honey

Sea salt and black pepper

Method

Place all ingredients in a food processor and whizz until puréed.

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SMOKEY HARISSA

OVEN INGREDIENTS

10 large, mixed tomatoes, halved

5 red peppers, halved and deseeded

4 red onions, skins removed and quartered

Handful hot chillies

Small bunch thyme

OTHER INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp caraway seeds

1 whole garlic bulb

2 tsp smoked paprika

½ cup red wine vinegar

½ cup maple syrup

Small bunch coriander

Juice of one lemon

100g roasted almonds

Method

Preheat oven to 220C. Place all oven ingredients on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Roast for 20 minutes until they start to blacken. Turn down heat to 180C and cook for a further 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Dry-roast coriander, cumin and caraway seeds in a pan, making sure not to burn them, then grind to a fine powder. Remove skin from garlic cloves and put in a food processor. Add all other ingredients, except the almonds, and purée. Quickly blitz almonds, keeping them coarse for texture.

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WHIPPED GOAT’S BUTTER

100g goat’s butter

100g goat’s cheese

1 tbsp celery salt

Bunch of chives, finely chopped

Zest of one lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Whisk the goat’s butter in a bowl with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, then add the goat’s cheese and whisk for a minute until blended. Add the celery salt, chives, lemon zest and seasoning and blend with the mixture.

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