Christmas Menu Part 1- Dips and Snack Platters

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Hello Lovelies, after the blog was offline half a day due to some server problems, I'm happy that I still managed to share the first part of my vegan Christmas Menu with you now. And I think we should start at the very beginning with delicious Dips and snack platters to share with everyone. In Switzerland family gatherings and dinners always start with Apéro, a glass of wine or non-alcoholic drinks and snacks, fresh veggies, olives and other little things to nibble on. Sometimes also chips, everything in balance and small portions to share, so you still have enough room for the yummy dinner ahead.

So the first Dip I want to share with you today is an alternative to a classical hummus. Since I recently took a Food Intolerance test with the result that I reacted the most to chickpeas, I'm trying to avoid them. So this Dip is with white beans instead of chickpeas and I think the result is even creamier with them. I made two varieties and added beetroot to one part.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

500 gr white beans  (out of a can or cook them yourself)
1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp Tahini
Juice of 1/2 a lemon (or more to taste)
1/2-1 Tsp Paprika
Pinch of Cumin
salt and pepper to taste
vegan cream (if it is too thick)
1/2 Beetroot (precooked)

How-To:

Add the beans, garlic, tahini and lemon juice into a mixer/food processor. Blend until well combined and creamy. Add the spices and maybe some cream if the consistency is too thick.
Take out two quarter and add the beetroot to the rest. Blend again until smooth. Sprinkle with olive oil and spices like Dukkah and serve with veggies and bread to dip.

The second recipe is one of my favorite dips, that I always loved before I switched to a fully vegan diet. I first tried it on vacation in the US and I have to admit I couldn't imagine the flavors would go together well. But I was proven wrong and I immediately fell in love with the dip. It's a Spinach-Artichoke-Dip that is usually served warm and that is so so delicious! I wanted to make a vegan version since some time now and I'm really happy to tell you that I did it and that I'm sharing the recipe with you today. I also managed to do it, thanks to the amazing vegan cheese from New Roots, I used their Cream Cheeze with chives and it fits perfectly.

Here is the recipe:

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Spinach-Artichoke-Dip

drucken pinnen

Ingredients

• 1 can/jar artichoke hearts
• 2 hand full fresh spinach
• 1 garlic clove
• 125 gr vegan cream cheese z.B. New Roots Cream Cheeeze chives
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt
• pepper

Topping:

• 1 slice whole wheat toast
• 2 Tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 Tsp olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 C degree
• Drain the water from the artichokes, roughly chop the spinach and add both to a mixer/food processor
• Add the vegan cheese, garlic and nutritional yeast and blend until smooth
• You can also add some of the spinach leaves later, to get bigger parts, which is also nice
• Season to taste with salt and peper
• Add to a ovenproof dish
• For the topping crumble the toast and mix it with the nutritional yeast and the olive oil
• Layer on the dip and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes
• Cover with foil if it gets to dark, but it should be golden brown and crispy
• Serve warm with veggie sticks and bread

Even my daughters, especially one of them, absolutely adore this dip. It also can be enjoyed cold, but I really prefer it warm and directly out of the oven. The crust was so good and much better than the cheesy version I remember. The nutritional yeast is giving it a cheesy taste, this is a bit of a secret weapon amongst most vegans :-).

So that's the first part of my Christmas menu and I hope I can inspire you to try something new. I would love that so much. And we will have both dips for sure on our Christmas table at one point.

Love Verena

This post is also available in: deutsch