Every party spread, no matter how fancy the shindig, should contain a dip or two. Dips are easy to make, fun to eat, and much loved by pretty much everyone. French onion dip is never a bad choice — you can learn to make an excellent one here — but there are other options. Below you will find three luscious, creamy, flavour-packed dips and spreads to make, take and serve.
Pimento Cheese Dip
Good pimento cheese is excellent on everything from crackers to crudités, and the secret to making yours excellent is to include both cream cheese and mayonnaise. I make mine with the following:
- 170g sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 170g cream cheese, whipped
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3-5 teaspoons Louisiana hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- Pepper to taste
- 170g pimentos (about 1½ jars), drained and divided into 4 and 56.70g portions
If your cheddar isn’t already shredded, do so and set it aside.
Combine all of your remaining ingredients except for the pimentos in a food processor, and pulse until smooth.
Fold in your shredded cheddar and pimentos, and pulse once or twice more to chop them up a bit.
Serve immediately or chill in the fridge. (Pimento cheese is also very good in a sandwich of the grilled variety, just for your info.)
Yoghurt Tahini Dip
There would actually be nothing wrong with serving a big bowl of tahini next to some tender-crisp vegetables, but I like to mix it with a little yoghurt to bulk it up. You can adjust this dip to your taste, adding more tahini as needed — because who would add less? — but I make mine with:
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 tablespoon of water, if needed
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley for garnishing
Add the first three ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. Add water if needed to get a spreadable, but not pourable consistency.
Taste, season with salt and pepper as you like, and top with fresh parsley.
Hot Honey Goat Cheese Dip
This dip is the perfect combination of creamy, spicy and sweet, and it will keep your guests hovering around the snack table until it is vanquished. Make it thusly, and watch it vanish:
- 225g of fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons thickened cream
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup chopped jarred Peppadew peppers
Combine everything in a bowl and mix until smooth, adding more cream as needed to make it dip-able.
Scrape it into a bowl, drizzle with more honey, and serve with carbs, plant parts or grilled meats.
If all of the above still seems like too much work, grab a block of cream cheese, pour some pepper jelly on top, and serve with crackers. It isn’t a dip, but it is extremely good.
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