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20 hours ago
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Regardless of the time of the year, I make these dips on repeat: they’re almost illegally easy to whip up, and are real crowdpleasers. They’re also good reminders that creating flavour has nothing to do with something being labelled “vegan” or not. Rather, it’s more about using fresh ingredients and complementary – and often unexpected – pairings. All you need to make all three recipes is a food processor, a blender or a very strong hand to chop and mix ferociously.
Vegan caesar dressing (pictured top)
No one will ever guess that there’s no egg, anchovy or dairy in this dressing. It’s one of my go-tos whenever I’m cooking for pregnant friends who desperately miss caesar dressing but can’t have raw egg yolk.
Prep 5 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4-6
80g cashews
175ml water
Juice of 2 limes
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp miso
2 tsp capers
1 tsp caper brine
1 tsp garlic paste, or 1 garlic clove, peeled
½ tsp granulated onion, or onion powder
2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves
1 tbsp chopped chives
Salt and black pepper
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz smooth. This will keep in a jar for three to four days in the fridge.
Use it: as a salad dressing, in a fresh tomato salad or cold potato salad, on pizza (trust me), with granny smith apples, spicy buffalo cauliflower or roast root vegetables.
Green tapenade
Move over black tapenade: this herby, bright variant is coming through. I’ve given some herb suggestions, but feel free to use whatever you have to hand.
Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4-6
290g can pitted green olives (165g drained weight), plus 1 tbsp olive brine
1 tbsp capers, plus 1 tsp caper brine
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 handful chopped parsley leaves
1 handful chopped basil leaves
1 handful chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped chives
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Drain the olives, then put them in a food processor with all the rest of the ingredients, and blitz – I like to keep the mix this quite chunky. If you don’t have a food processor, you can achieve the same result by finely chopping the ingredients with a knife or even blitzing them in a blender. This will keep in a clean jar for three to four days in the fridge.
Use it with a crudité platter, grilled courgettes, artichokes, or as a layer in a sandwich.
Vegan spanakopita dip
My mum’s family are Greek and my uncle has been vegan for decades – yes, even before it was cool – so we’re used to creating delicious and protein-packed Greek flavours using non-dairy ingredients. This spanakopita dip tastes just as good as the classic pie filling, if not better, and is ridiculously easy
Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4-6
1 block silken tofu
Juice of 1 lemon, plus grated zest for serving
1 tsp white-wine vinegar
100g cooked spinach, thawed from frozen or quickly steamed/cooked
¼ white onion, chopped
1 handful chopped spring onions
1 handful fresh dill
A big pinch of salt
Olive oil, to serve
Put all the ingredients except the lemon zest and olive oil in a food processor and blitz smooth. Serve topped with the lemon zest and a drizzle of olive oil. See, I told you it was easy! This will keep in a clean jar in the fridge for three to four days.
Use this dip in a falafel wrap, or in a grain bowl with lentils, chickpeas and roast greens, or in pitta or as a salad dressing.
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Claire Dinhut, AKA Condiment Claire, is the author of The Condiment Book: A Brilliantly Flavourful Guide to Food’s Unsung Heroes, published by Bloomsbury at £14.99. To order a copy for £13.49, visit guardianbookshop.com
