ROMESCU-STYLE ROASTED PEPPER DIP 2 yellow bell peppers, halved 2 red bell peppers; halved 8 lg. whole garlic cloves, unpeeled 12 almonds 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tsp. sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar cayenne pepper crudites toasted pita wedges Preheat broiler. Line heavy large baking sheet with foil. Arrange peppers cut side down in center of baking sheet; surround with garlic. Broil 6 inches from heat until peppers are blackened and garlic is tender, turning garlic often, about 12 minutes. Gather foil up around peppers and garlic; let stand until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Working over bowl to catch any juices, peel and seed peppers; reserve juices. Keeping red and yellow peppers separate, cut into pieces; transfer to 2 separate bowls. Peel and chop garlic, discarding any hard pieces. Finely chop 6 almonds in processor. Add yellow peppers, half of garlic, 1 teaspoon reserved pepper juice, ½ tablespoon oil, ½ teaspoon vinegar, and pinch of cayenne and puree. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. Using clean processor, repeat with remaining 6 almonds, red peppers, remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon pepper juice, ½ tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon vinegar and pinch of cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill purees separately. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Simultaneously spoon each puree into shallow bowl. Shake bowl gently, allowing purees to meet in center. Serve with crudites and pita wedges. Makes about 1¼ cup. Yields 10 servings. Notes: I used balsamic vinegar instead of what's in the recipe. I had to do a bit of adjusting of the seasonings. It came out a little bland for my taste, just following the recipe. I added a little more vinegar and salt, pepper, and cayenne until it had just a light tangyness and the spice was subtle but noticeable. It's not supposed to be a *hot* dish, you just want a hint of heat, and just a hint of tartness from the vinegar. As for serving it with crudites, I thought that sounded a little weird, sort of cannibalistic, if you will - vegetables dipped in vegetables? This may be best done at least a day ahead so the flavors can blend. Of course don't mix the 2 halves until just before serving. The pita crisps I made involve splitting the pita and then brushing the inner surface of each half with olive oil. I then stack them and cut into 6 wedges. Then I distribute the wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes or until crisp and browned. I make them ahead and store in a large metal cannister to keep them fresh and crisp. Make sure they're completely cooled before putting them in the canister. Kate -- Kate Connally “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.” Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back, Until you bite their heads off.” What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about? mailto:[email protected]
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says... <yummy dip recipe snipped and saved> >The pita crisps I made involve splitting the pita and then brushing the inner surface of each half >with olive oil. I then stack them and cut into 6 wedges. Then I distribute the wedges in a single >layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes or until crisp and browned. I make >them ahead and store in a large metal cannister to keep them fresh and crisp. Make sure they're >completely cooled before putting them in the canister. > > I do a similar thing when I serve dips, but I like to spice the crisps up a bit by sprinkling with a mixture of: 4 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coarse salt 2 teaspoons paprika In a small dry heavy skillet toast cumin seeds over moderate heat, shaking skillet until seeds are fragrant, about 1 minute. Cool. In an electric coffee/spice grinder, finely grind seeds with salt and paprika. You can add this mixture directly to the olive oil before you brush it on the toasts, but I put it in an empty spice jar with a shaker top and sprinkle it all over the pita toasts, then spray the toasts lightly with an olive-oil mister. -- Donna A pessimist believes all women are bad. An optimist hopes they are. To reply, remove the SPAM BLOCK
Donna Rose wrote: > > In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says... <yummy dip recipe snipped > and saved> > > >The pita crisps I made involve splitting the pita and then brushing the inner surface of each > >half with olive oil. I then stack them and cut into 6 wedges. Then I distribute the wedges in a > >single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes or until crisp and browned. > >I make them ahead and store in a large metal cannister to keep them fresh and crisp. Make sure > >they're completely cooled before putting them in the canister. > > > > > I do a similar thing when I serve dips, but I like to spice the crisps up a bit by sprinkling with > a mixture of: > > 4 teaspoons cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coarse salt 2 teaspoons paprika > > In a small dry heavy skillet toast cumin seeds over moderate heat, shaking skillet until seeds are > fragrant, about 1 minute. Cool. > > In an electric coffee/spice grinder, finely grind seeds with salt and paprika. > > You can add this mixture directly to the olive oil before you brush it on the toasts, but I put it > in an empty spice jar with a shaker top and sprinkle it all over the pita toasts, then spray the > toasts lightly with an olive-oil mister. Donna, that sounds good. I may try it some time, although generally speaking I like a plain crisp for dipping since the dip generally has lots of flavor. They might be good just by themselves with drinks or something. Kate -- Kate Connally “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.” Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back, Until you bite their heads off.” What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about? mailto:[email protected]
