Roasted red pepper & macadamia dip (hummus alternative)

For the last year or so, since I had a huge M.E relapse and IBS flare from hell, my body hasn’t been able to tolerate any pulses apart from green/brown lentils in teeny amounts. That means I’ve had no chickpeas and therefore no hummus. Plant based meals with zero hummus, get outta here. In the last few weeks my body has stopped being such a little jerk and I’ve been able to eat a grand total of 5 chickpeas, ha! Which I’m going to slowly increase and see how I get on. Anyway, moving away from my ‘perma-pregnant with quadruplets’ looking tum, when I couldn’t eat hummus I wanted to create something that could replicate the real deal. And this little recipe has been a wee godsend. I hope you love it too.

This is a beautiful dip in its own right for anyone to enjoy, but if you can’t eat, tolerate or digest chickpeas then this is definitely for you. This recipe creates a gorgeous dip with the contrasting sweet roasted peppers, the acidity of the lemon, the slight bitterness of the tahini and the lovely subtle warmth of cumin and chilli. You can also use the macadamia nut base and add switch out the pepper for a selection of veg, herbs and spices to create your favourite ‘hummus’ flavours.

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND MACADAMIA DIP

Ingredients

1 cup of macadamia nuts (soaked overnight)

2 tablespoons tahini

Juice of half a lemon

2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil

A store bought jar of roasted peppers - I use about 8 mild piquanté peppers. They are small are really sweet and available in most supermarkets. Feel free to use any peppers you like 

Cracked black pepper and salt to taste

Generous pinch of cumin and chilli flakes

Approx 1/3 - 1/2 of a cup of water to loosen

Method

Add all the ingredients and 2 tablespoons of the water to a high speed blender and blend, scraping down the sides when necessary. Add more water if needed to get your blender really working and blend until you’re left with a silky smooth hummus texture.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Pop into the fridge until needed. It’ll stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 - 5 days. 

Serve as a dip/ hummus replacement with crudités, tortilla chips, spread over a flatbread, add to salads or eat however you fancy.