A Quickie, But A Goody

I really tend to dig into my recipes when preparing for a dinner party or food gathering.  According to my mother’s wisdom, this makes no sense.  She has always encouraged me to cook recipes that I know and am comfortable when cooking for a group. I think it has something to do with the fact that I still have just begun my adventures in cooking and eating, and have an insatiable hunger to try new dishes and techniques.  I have a stack of hundreds of recipes I am dying to try, but don’t have the money or time to do it!

It was for my now sister-in-law’s wedding shower that I prepared this walnut and red pepper dip as an accompaniment to my homemade hummus for crudités.  Thinking that the hummus would assume popularity, I was surprised to find that everyone seemed to love the red pepper dip overwhelmingly!  I had no less than two handfuls of people approach me after the shower inquiring about the recipe.  Unfortunately, I could not claim it as my own, but was of course happy to share.

It is for this reason that I think it deserves a little Knife and Fork time.  Serve it with veggies, pita chips or bread and use the leftovers as a delicious spread on sandwiches.  It only takes a couple minutes and a few ingredients.  For those of you who steer clear of trying new recipes: don’t!  You never know what you will find…

Happy Eating,

Lindsay

Walnut Red Pepper Dip

From Sunset Magazine

2 cups shelled walnuts

½ teaspoon each: ground cumin, sugar, and salt

1 jar (12-oz.) roasted red peppers, drained

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoon lemon juice

In a food processor*, pulse walnuts, cumin, sugar, and salt until walnuts are finely ground.  Add peppers, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.  Whirl until smooth.

*You can use a blender if you do not have a food processor; however, you need to chop the walnuts and peppers a bit before blending.