Crushed edamame guacamole with black sesame and caraway crackers.
Crushed edamame guacamole with black sesame and caraway crackers.
When it comes to summer entertaining I like to keep things simple but still a little different. I'd rather do 1-2 snacks well than offer a huge array. Besides there's usually a heavy BBQ to follow.
Edamame adds a great texture to this citrusy guacamole which is all blitzed togetherin a food processor so takes no time at all.
The caraway crackers take just 4 ingredients, a little bit of resting and rolling and will keep for a week, if they're not gobbled up first.
Almond butter adds a nutty, creamy flavour to my take on baba ganoush and it's finished off with the prettiest pink pickled onions which make a great accompaniment to meat or burgers as well.
Crushed edamame guacamole with black sesame and caraway crackers
Guacamole 1 shallot 1 clove garlic ½ cup coriander 1 cup edamame, cooked and peeled 3 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled Zest and juice of a lemon or lime ½ teaspoon sea salt A few drops of hot sauce Black sesame seeds for sprinkling
Four Ingredient Caraway Crackers 250g self raising flour 1 tsp sea salt 30ml olive oil, plus extra for brushing 2 tbsp caraway seeds
In a food processor blitz shallot, garlic and coriander to finely chop. Add edamame and pulse to crush. Add avocados, lemon zest and juice, salt, and hot sauce. Pulse to mix so avocados are still slightly chunky. Check seasoning and acidity and adjust to your liking. Serve sprinkled with black sesame seeds.
For the crackers, combine flour and sea salt. Mix in olive oil and 120ml water, and bring together with your hands. Knead lightly to form a smooth dough, pat into a disc, wrap and refrigerate to rest for an hour. Preheat oven to 220ºC. Divide dough into 2 pieces and roll out each on a floured bench to approximately 2mm thick. Cut into rough 3cm-width triangles and transfer to baking paper lined trays. Brush with olive oil, season to taste, scatter with caraway seeds and bake in batches until golden and crispy (6-7 minutes). Cool and serve with dip.
Dip 2 large eggplants 100 ml plain yogurt ½ cup almond butter Zest and juice of ½ lemon 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 red chilli, chopped 1 tsp ground cumin ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pink Pickled onions 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar 1 ½ tsp sea salt 1 red onion, thinly sliced
Eggplant and almond dip with pink pickled onions.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC fan bake. Pierce the eggplant a few times, then roast for 45 minutes until blackened and collapsing. Leave to cool.
Peel off the charred skin and tip into a food processor with the yogurt, almond butter, lemon juice and zest, garlic, chilli, cumin and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until mixed but still slightly chunky. Tip into a bowl, and drizzle with more olive oil.
For the pickled onions whisk together vinegar, sugar and salt with 1 cup water in a small bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Place onion in a jar; pour vinegar mixture over then let sit at room temperature for an hour. Serve on top of dip and crackers.
