Roasted Carrot and Roasted Vegetable Hummus

Dips are some of the easiest things to make and hummus is a clear favourite in this household. I wanted to create some new flavours and enrich and vary the vegetable content of hummus so here are two new recipes: a roasted carrot hummus and a roasted vegetable hummus. Both have the creamy texture of chickpeas along with sweetness from the roasted vegetables.

So a few weeks ago I told you about my birthday. What I neglected to tell you Dear Reader, was what happened after we had dinner at The Bach Eatery. So my "brother" Nick is always checking in on facebook at various strip clubs and what can I say, I really wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I had been to one and it wasn't particularly exciting but I figured that I needed to try another. So Belinda promised that if I finished my whole cocktail then they would take me to a strip club.

Dutifully I slurped down my cocktail and after dinner we found ourselves on the way to a place on Nick's directions. We passed all manner of skeevy bars on George Street in the car.

"I guarantee that that place over there on the corner will give you ringworm!" said Nick pointing to one bar (not the one we were going to thankfully!). "The drinks are $3 all day all night, ringworm is guaranteed!" he said pointing his finger authoritatively. Belinda, Nick, Mr NQN and me arrived at the club and paid our entry and perched on bar chairs against a wobbly corner table. A man sitting next to Belinda turned to her and pointed at me. "Is she your wife?" he asked. I mean I guess it was a possibility. He went on to try and chat her up woefully concluding with the fact that he had arrived with a group of friends who had left him behind.

There was a slightly (red: very) awkward moment when two dancers came up to chat to us. Contrary to what I assumed, Nick demurred when offered a special dance and told them that Belinda was his wife. Feeling quite bored after about 45 minutes we got up to leave. A man gestured to me and asked Mr NQN, "Is she dancing tonight?" When Mr NQN said no he said "A shame..." and then eased his generous bulk in a different direction. "They make them look so much more interesting on tv," I said mournfully. "I've got ringworm," said Nick after he shook a guy's sopping wet, clammy hand. "Uggghhh," we all said and walked back to the car. It really wasn't what we expected.

Another thing that didn't quite turn out as expected was my vegan pavlova. I wrote about it earlier and how they hadn't cooked properly but I was determined and made another version in smaller meringues. So I had two tins of chickpeas that I wanted to make something with. And the easiest thing was using the bounty of vegetables that I had just purchased from the market.

The first was a roasted carrot hummus and the second is a roasted vegetable hummus. Both have different flavour profiles but both have a bit of sweetness from roasting the vegetables and a richer flavour. Dips are always one of the easiest things to make and sometimes we just have these and pita for dinner if we've had a big lunch. Once you start making your own dips, it's quite addictive and you may find yourself decrying the price of bought dips when you realise how much better and cheaper they are when made at home. And I promise, these are always as exciting as they seem to be unlike other things! ;)

So tell me Dear Reader, do you make your own dips? Have you ever been to a strip club? What did you think? What item do you often think is too expensive to buy when compared with making it at home?

Roasted Carrot Hummus

• 1 bunch Dutch carrots, scrubbed well
• 410g/14.48oz tin of chickpeas, drained (use the water for an egg free meringue!)
• 2 cloves garlic (you can also caramelise the garlic)
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 4 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for drizzling on top of vegetables
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup water
• Juice of 1/2 a medium sized lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Step 1 - Drizzle the carrots with oil and roast whole in a 200C/400F oven for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Step 2 - Place in a food processor along with chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, water, lemon juice and cumin. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Vegetable Hummus

• 3 capsicums/peppers (yellow, red or orange are the sweetest)
• 3 red onions, peeled and quartered
• 410g/14.48oz tin of chickpeas, drained
• 2 cloves garlic (you can also roast or caramelise the garlic)
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 4 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for drizzling on top of vegetables
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup water
• Juice of 1/2 a medium sized lemon
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tray with parchment. Slice up the capsicums and place the onions on the tray alongside the capsicum slices (you can also caramelise the garlic too). Drizzle with some oil and roast for 30-40 minutes until caramelised. Allow to cool a little.

Step 2 - Place the capsicum, onion and garlic in a food processor and blitz. Add the chickpeas and process again. Then add the olive oil, water, lemon juice and process until smooth. Add a little extra water or oil to help the machine along if the mixture is too stiff. Season with salt and pepper and serve with pita bread.