Butterbean hummus with red pepper and walnut paste

This Butterbean hummus with red pepper and walnut paste recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi is such a good one to try. I simply had to make it once I saw the recipe in the Guardian. It looked so good and there can never be enough good dip and paste ideas. In that article there are also a few other good dip recipes, you should definitely have a look!

This plateful consists of two parts, a creamy garlicky butterbean hummus and a paste made from roasted peppers, chillies and walnuts. Hummus is always so good and it's nice to use different pulses to make it. I also love it when peppers are roasted until soggy with black skins. The walnuts just completed this plate.

It was such a good combination and I served it with buttery homemade spelt garlic rolls. This was just the perfect summer spread.

Your VegHog

Red lentil hummus

Can there ever be enough different hummus variations? I think not. I've tried plenty of different ones, but not a red lentil one, until I recently had some with a meal out. I became very curious wanting to make some myself. In this recipe I basically just substituted the chick peas in my basic homemade hummus with red lentils and it became a really nice dip. I'm sure I will perfect the recipe more with the time, if I'll feel like it.

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils

2 garlic cloves

½ lemon's juice

1 tsp salt

Sprinkle of smoked paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp tahini

Method

Cook the lentils until they are soft, drain and cool them down.

Purée all ingredients into an even paste.

Serve the hummus with some vegetables, flatbreads, crispbreads, sandwiches etc.

Your VegHog

Green tomato chutney

“A Tigerella never loses its stripes”, I said when I had finished this chutney. With mixed feelings I have now officially ended my tomato growing season and next week I will cut the remaining vines down. Couple of weeks ago I harvested the green tomatoes that weren't able to ripen anymore in this lack of light and cold nights. Some I was able to ripen in a vase indoors, but there was still a fair amount left that I didn't want to go to waste. So I explored the possibilities what to make of them and went with the chutney idea. I just made a basic chutney like I normally would, and it got actually very nice. Now I can still enjoy my tomatoes during the winter.

Ingredients

400 g green tomatoes

1 onion

100 ml Aspall cyder vinegar

200 g sugar

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp ginger powder

Method

Chop the onion and the tomatoes.

Cook the onion with the vinegar, sugar, chilli flakes and ginger powder for 5 minutes.

Then add the tomatoes to the pan.

Let the pan contents simmer for about 40-50 minutes or until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the mixture has reached a sticky texture.

Pour the chutney into sterilised preservation glasses and store. I got a large jar and a small one out of this.

Chutney has many uses, have it for example with cheeses, veggie nuggets, sandwiches or roasted vegetables.

Your VegHog