Baby veggies, meet spicy cheese dip
Presenting your new best-ever party trick: prepare some baby veg dippers, then make a warm and spicy cheese dip. Expect loads of double dipping.
First, we prep the baby veg dippers:
Pickle them: Pickle baby turnips by slicing them in half and letting them stand in 1 cup warm red wine vinegar with a couple of peppercorns. Set aside to pickle.
Roast them: Halve baby sweet potatoes and roast then until tender and golden.
Shave them: Shave baby fennel into ribbons and slice them into dipping sticks.
Fry them: Score halved baby brinjals and pan fry cut side down until cooked through.
Halve them: Slice baby carrots in half lengthwise and there you have the perfect vegetable dipper.
For the spicy cheese dip:
- Char a few bird’s eye chillies in a pan with 1–2 teaspoons of olive oil.
- Add 2–3 sliced cloves of garlic to brown, as well as 1 teaspoon smoked paprika.
- Remove from the heat and set aside. In the same pan, melt 50 g butter and whisk in 50 g flour until a thick yellow mixture forms.
- Slowly add a cup of milk while whisking, followed by 200 g of mixed grated cheddar cheese.
- Simmer on low heat to make a smooth cheese sauce.
- Put the cheese dip under the grill for 5 minutes until golden and bubbly.
- Drizzle with chilli oil.
- Serve immediately with your baby veg dippers. Yum!