If you need some interesting new dips to serve with your pita, you are in the right place… I was bored of hummus and tatziki amongst others when I came across this recipe for a Tunisian carrot dip. Now I have had some carrot dips in Lebanese/Middle-eastern restaurants as part of mezze and never really was bowled over by any of them. Enter Houriya courtesy of Diana Henry’s recipe… and I am finding myself spreading it even on toast for breakfast, running to the kitchen to putting a smidge on a bit of baguette as a snack…obsessed. Just taste it and see… the lime and the honey really work well with the harissa and make this sing. Not sure why hummus is king, this could totally take over!
It is superb with some Iranian bread called Naan e Barbari (delicious, and everyone must try), which I had to go all the way to Iranian store called Eskan in the 15th arrondissement of Paris to find. You can also get your Tahini and pomegranate molasses amongst other Persian and middle eastern goodies here.
Simple and easy to make and delivers loads of flavor. Diana Henry said every recipe in this book had to be magical and having only tried this dip first, I can say it totally is magical. Turning the humble carrot into something so fantastic is pretty rare. I have adapted it to my taste a little. If you have a bag of carrots sitting in your fridge you need to finish do yourself a favor and make this!
300g (10.5 oz) carrots cut into chunks and cooked till tender
1.5 tsp ground cumin
2-3 tsp harissa (I like Belazu rose harissa)
1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1.5 tsp honey
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
juice of a lime
1 green chili cut into a few pieces
Add cooked carrots and all other ingredients to food processor and blend. Taste and adjust seasoning according to taste, add more salt/pepper/honey/vinegar. Serve at room temperature drizzled with some olive oil. Drizzle some harissa on top too if you like.
