Three vegetarian dips to avert the hummus crisis

In recreating recipes from 60s and 70s cookbooks, there has been a distinct lack of vegetarian dishes. In fact, one of the few vegetarian meals I have made for the blog was from the Argentinian Grandma's book - the hazelnut and ricotta ravioli - as pasta is often meat-free, as is Argentinian pizza (I know, weird!).

One of the main reasons for the lack of veggie dishes is the scarcity of recipes: vegetarianism didn't begin to become popular until the 70s. One of the first cookbooks to target this growing movement was The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas, published in 1972 while Anna was still at film school in California. It sold over a million copies. I have this, and her second book published in 1978 (pictured below), on generous loan from a Barbican resident, in an attempt to redress the veggie balance!

These beautifully illustrated books focus on making delicious meals and dinner party entertaining without using meat substitutes, and letting good quality vegetables speak for themselves. As a start (there'll be more, I promise), I've adapted three dips adapted from the second book, which has more exotic recipes inspired by Anna's travels in the mid-70s.

I have a mini food processor which works perfectly for blitzing dips, but a blender or Nutribullet-type thing should work just as well. They all taste great with some toasted pitta bread for dipping.

BABA GANOUJ

Described as a salad of eggplant and sesame paste that Anna discovered on "the long, hot summer days in Cairo".

Ingredients 

1 aubergine 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 tsp tahini

Half a lemon

Method

1. Either prick the aubergine several times and roast in a hot oven until tender (about 30 minutes) or cut in half and griddle for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool.

2. When the aubergine is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and add to a food processor or blender with the crushed garlic, tahini and good squeeze of lemon juice. Blitz briefly to combine.

BROAD BEAN HUMMUS

A different take on the usual hummus, using broad beans instead of chickpeas. 

Ingredients

250g frozen broad beans

1 clove garlic

1 tsp tahini

Half a lemon

1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)

Method

1. Cook the beans in boiling water for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain.

2. Blitz the cooked beans with the remaining ingredients until well combined. Season with salt and pepper and a little water if the consistency is too thick and blitz again.

ARTICHOKE CHEESE

This is a light and tangy dip, delicious with some chilli flakes sprinkled on top.

Ingredients

280g artichokes in oil

180g cream cheese

40g Parmesan

Half a lemon

Method

Tip all the ingredients into the food processor and blitz until smooth. Add some freshly ground black pepper to serve.

Have fun dipping!