Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Moroccan Carrot Dip

I present to you Moroccan carrot dip a la the blog Stylish Cuisine. This is not a dip exclusively for carrots, but a dip made with carrots as it's base. As far as dips go, I'm not sure you could get much healthier than this.
Mrblocko and I could not stop eating this dip. I think it got better after the first day. Sitting in the fridge gave the flavors a chance to meld and get friendly with one another.

What did Blockette think? After the first bite, she made the scrunchy face and proclaimed it to be "yucky". A few days later, after seeing mommy and daddy gobbling the stuff down, she asked for another taste. Why the change of heart? The first time I brought the dip to the table, the olives were perched on top of the dip. Blockette as an aversion to all olives, so when she saw the dip, she saw the olives and knew it was super gross. By the time she asked for another taste all the olives had been eaten or hidden in the bottom of the dip. Guess what? With the offensive olives out of the picture, she actually liked it.

It was a good thing she had a change of heart. This dip makes a lot. I mean you are using a whole pound of carrots as a base. It took a week of lunches for us to get through the whole bowl. Not that I'm complaining about that. Just be aware if you are going to make this for yourself and you have a small family, you'll be eating the dip for a while.

Moroccan Carrot Dip from Stylish Cuisine
16 ounces carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 clove garlic, peeled and left whole
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
sea salt, to taste
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons seeded green olives (left whole or chopped, your preference)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
4-6 rounds flat bread or pita pocket bread

Cook the chopped carrot and garlic in simmering, salted water, for about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain well, then return them to the hot, dry pan for a minute or two, over medium heat, to dry them out further.Tip the carrots and garlic into the food processor bowl, and process until smooth. Add the cumin, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, sea salt, honey and lemon juice and process again. With the machine still running, add the olive oil gradually. Allow to cool. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, scatter with olives and cilantro leaves (if using), and serve with lightly warmed flat bread or chips for dipping.

2 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you liked the dip. I'm glad that Blockette liked it too. I wish I were so lucky with my boys (the pickiest eaters in the world)!

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  2. The recipe sounds really good. I'm going to try it (in a smaller quantity!)

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