Mark Hix’s fancy homemade dips – perfect for a party
We might be spoilt for choice when it comes to dips at the supermarket, but there’s nothing nicer than whizzing up your own fresh combinations to enjoy as snacks or for a drinks party. You can make a dip out of most things, in fact, from cooked root vegetables to pulses, while for the simplest approach, yoghurt, mayonnaise and crème fraîche can be pepped up with spices, chilli sauce, citrus or herbs. There are plenty of sweet options (with fresh fruit for dunking), too, which I’ll return to in the summer.
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries excel at dips, with hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara (a vibrant roasted red pepper and walnut blend) among their most popular spreads. And while we don’t have the same culinary traditions in this country, I used to serve a Northern-inspired combo of whipped chicken livers with a Yorkshire pudding at my Tramshed restaurant in Shoreditch, and the smoked fish blend I’m sharing here feels aptly British. I even made a cauliflower cheese dip the other day, blitzing up leftovers of the creamy dish, and served it with cauliflower fritters. So maybe we can create our own classics after all.
