This is genuinely one of the tastiest dips we had in a while – it’s seasonal, festive and the combination of leek, dates, tahini and lemon with sumac goes wonderfully!! This is so worth trying. This is a recipe from a friend of ours Bettina’s kitchens’ new book “Celebrate”, see a photo down below
1baguette sliced into rounds or 4-6 slices of sourdough cut in half
For the leek and tahini dip
3leeks
3-4tbspof olive oil
4dates pitted and torn
3-4tbspof tahini
2tspof ground sumac
Salt and pepper to taste
For the green oil
30gof flat leaf parsley chopped
2clovesof garlic
3-4tbspof olive oil
To serve:
Pine nuts
Drizzle of olive oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and give a good clean to remove any sediment as sand often hides in the green part
Thinly slice the leek including the green part. Heat a large saucepan on high heat and once hot add the 3-4 tbsp of olive oil, all the leeks and a generous pinch of salt and fry these for 5 mins stirring regularly. Turn the heat down to medium and leave them to fry for a further 15 mins stirring occasionally.
While the leek is cooking, put all the ingredients for the green oil into a blender or food processor and blend till smooth and vibrant green – you can also use an immersion blender.
Take the baguette, slice and spread some green oil onto each piece and place on a baking tray and bake for 5 mins in the oven.
When the leeks are ready add to a food processor along with the dates, tahini, sumac and lemon juice and pulse to make a chunky dip. Do blend too much as you want a nice bite to this dip.
In a large plate or bowl add the leek dip in the centre and take the toasted bread out of the oven and place around the dip, sprinkle on pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil and enjoy!