As you can see from previous posts, I love making different pestos – Herb and caper pesto, Basil, wild garlic and hazelnut pesto, Garden herb and pea, – and what is so appealing is that they have so many uses, they keep well and can even be frozen, and they are so easy to make, and can use up all those bits and pieces you’re not sure what you are going to do with.
I haven’t called this a pesto – which in Italian is derived from a word meaning to pound or crush- but a dip. It can be used as a dip with crudités, crackers or crisps or exactly as you would use a pesto with pasta, as a base for bruschetta or used as a salad dressing.
I always have a glut of herbs and salad leaves in my garden at this time of year. So I can benefit in the winter as well I gather a stock and make a variety of soups, sauces and pestos. Some of the herbs I chop finely and add to a little olive oil and freeze in large ice cube trays ready to pop out and freeze in a container to be used when I need herbs to add to bread, white sauce, garnish for soups or to add to sautéed mushrooms or chicken.
This dip is quick and easy to make. No Brazil nuts? – use almonds, walnuts or peanuts. No artichokes? – sun-dried tomatoes make a lovely alternative and give the dip a rich colour.
For a healthier version replace some of the oil with more boiling water and some extra lime juice.
Serving suggestions:
- Use as a dip with crudités
- Toss into cooked pasta
- Spread over toasted ciabatta and top with oven-roasted tomatoes
- Mix with mayonnaise and serve with cooked chicken
- Spread over cod or salmon fillets and top with breadcrumbs and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
- Mix with cream cheese and use as a stuffing for chicken breasts
Mixed herb, brazil nut, artichoke and pumpkin seed dip
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls chopped assorted herbs - I used rocket, sorrel, lovage and parsley
- 150 g chopped, brazil nuts
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 lime, juiced and rinded
- 100 g artichoke hearts
- 60 ml olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Put the herbs and brazil nuts into a processor and blitz until quite smooth.
- Add the pumpkin seeds, lime juice and rind and the artichokes and process until quite smooth but with some texture left.
- Slowly pour in the olive oil whilst the machine is running. Check for the thickness you want. Add a little boiling waterif you need to thin it down.
- Season to taste. May be kept in the fridge for up to a week or frozen.
Notes
- Use as a dip with crudités
- Toss into cooked pasta
- Spread over toasted ciabatta and top with oven-roasted tomatoes
- Mix with mayonnaise and serve with cooked chicken
- Spread over cod or salmon fillets and top with breadcrumbs and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
- Mix with cream cheese and use as a stuffing for chicken breasts
