Cookbook 54: bites

This book is from The Australian Women’s Weekly, creative food series, titled bites.  Apparently it was reprinted due to popular demand, which surprises me because I really didn’t find it all that interesting or useful as a cookbook.

Apparently this book is to help you prepare for dinner parties, and if that’s the case, I don’t want to run the type of dinner parties that this book caters for as most of the recipes are for finger food (so really more cocktail party-ish) and they’re quite fiddly.  I didn’t make any fiddly food from this book, I made three dips to take to a picnic.  I also didn’t take any photos, because well dip isn’t all that interesting and I forgot.  I’m relatively unimpressed, so give it 2 out of 5 stars.

baba ghanoush

Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggplants (1 kg)
  • 1.4 cup (70g) yoghurt
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) tahini
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to hot (200C). Pierce eggplants in several places with a skewer.  Place whole eggplants on oven tray.  Bake, uncovered, in hot oven about 1 hour or until soft; cool 15 minutes.
  2. Peel eggplants, chop flesh coarsely; discard skins.  Blend or process eggplant flesh with remaining ingredients until combined.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with pita bread if desired.

Notes on this recipe:

  • It’s actually quite tasty, and the instructions are very straightforward.  I appreciated the fact that the “large eggplants” had a weight measurement with them so I could actually figure out which type of large eggplants I should be buying (the really large ones).
  • The one hour of roasting time in the oven is quite significant though, especially if you’re preparing for a dinner party.

beetroot dip

Ingredients:

  • 2 large, fresh beetroot (400g)
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup greek-style yoghurt

Method:

  1. Boil, steam or microwave beetroot until tender.  Cool slightly; peel and chop coarsely.
  2. Blend or process beetroot with remaining ingredients until smooth.

Notes on this recipe:

  • I’d never cooked beetroot before, and thanks to this recipe had to rely on the internet to tell me how long beetroot should cook for to be “tender”.  Which is about 45 – 60 minutes if you’re boiling it.  I also wasn’t quite sure what “tender” was for beetroot.
  • Peeling beetroot that’s been cooking for an hour is surprisingly easy, but everything turns a lovely pink colour.
  • Again, this is a recipe that requires quite a substantial cooking process for a dinner party.

Spiced carrot dip

Ingredients:

  • 2 large carrots (360g), chopped coarsely
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeruc
  • 1/2 cup greek-style yoghurt
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander

Method:

  1. Boil, steam or microwave carrot until soft; drain
  2. Heat oil in medium frying pan; cook garlic and spices, stirring, until fragrant.  Blend or process carrot and spice mixture with yoghurt and coriander until smooth.

Notes on this recipe:

  • Again, indications as to how long the carrots should cook for so they are soft would be useful.