Veggies can never be boring

I love having a big snack around mid morning. Allegedly I shouldn’t be hungry 3 hours after a satisfying breakfast, but alas my belly screams each morning. So my snack of choice – a huge plate of veggies and a little fruit so I can make it until lunch time (almost). Last week I made some Baba Ghannouj from home grown eggplant to dip my celery sticks but now I’m out of tahini J Don’t you hate that when you plan what you will eat, get excited and then realise you don’t have the ingredients!?! Well in the name of improvisation, here is what I made instead, so my veggies need never be boring or feel lonely.

Yoghurt and harissa dip! Simply mix some yoghurt with a dap of harissa (depending on your hotness threshold) and presto a dip so tasty and spicy you’ll want to eat the whole bunch of celery. And just in case you want to make your own harissa (because the additives they put in pre-made stuff is mind-boggling. I mean really, put chillies in a jar and the stuff is indestructible. It took me a day to get the burn from my fingers!) oh yes, here’s the recipe I used. It’s typically served as an accompaniment to Moroccan food, but tastes lovely with soups as well. Store covered in the fridge for up to two weeks.

What's your favourite veggie snacks?

Harissa
250g fresh birds-eye chillies
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon dried mint
1 teaspoon salt
125ml extra virgin olive oil

1. Wearing rubber gloves (ignore this at your peril and if you do go here) remove stems of chillies, split in half, remove seeds and soften in hot water for 5 minutes.

2. While chillies are soaking, dry-fry caraway coriander and cumin in a pan until seeds become aromatic, about 1-2 minutes. Drain chillies and place in a food processor. Add seeds, garlic, mint and salt to food processor and slowly adding olive oil process until a smooth thick paste forms.