Play a lovely tuna

Tuna is a poor girl's best friend. That, and tinned corn and lentils and chickpeas. It's amazing what you can do with these staples!

I  must admit though, I am a bit of a tuna snob and do love Sirena tuna. The chilli and oil flavour is the bee's knees - tossed through pasta, in a pita pocket, on a bed of spinach with some sun dried tomatoes, olives and feta - the bomb!

But my clever friend Ad recently introduced me to an all new way to indulge in this pantry item (thanks to Aunty Rach). The best tuna dip ever!

Aunty Rachel's tuna tip

1 can chilli and oil tuna

1 tub spreadable light cream cheese

1 squeeze of lemon juice

2 anchovies (I cheat and if I don't have any in the fridge, I use a splash or two of fish sauce, and I think capers would work equally as well)

Pinch of salt and pepper

Slurp of olive oil

1. Drain the tuna from the oil and chilli - but reserve the oil and chilli for later.
2. Place the tuna, cream cheese, lemon juice, anchovies, S&P and olive oil in a bowl and blend to combine until smooth (I just used a stick blender).
3. Transfer the dip to a smaller serving bowl, cover with cling wrap and put in the fridge to set. About an hour is okay and it's not the end of the world if you don't have time for this step - it will just be a bit sloppy but still taste great!
4. Take out to serve and place the reserved chilli on top, pour over the oil and then sprinkle with dukkah.
5. Serve with pita crisps, bagels, carrot sticks etc.

Around the world in 80 plates

 Like any good holiday, my recent trip to New Zealand was full of ah-mazing food discoveries.

Here are some of my faves . . .

Bluebird chips with onion dip (I ate a whole bowl to myself at the wedding recovery BBQ. Enough said.)

The best nibbles plate ever including homemade guacamole, smoked chicken, smoked salmon fillet, grilled haloumi with pickled red onions and yes . . . more onion dip.

Matched with Martinborough's finest whites.

Grazing platter at Poppies Winery. 

Hello dolmades and grilled courgettes and capsicums (gosh, I'm even speaking like the Kiwis now. I mean, zucchinis, not courgettes)

Beautiful Pinot Gris.

An ah-mazing feast at Shed 5 in Wellington. My camera carked it so I didn't get a pic of my fish and chips but it was GOOD.

And I just wanted to order "fush and chups" while I was over there. Small pleasures.

Fern had the cannelloni (and Sophie the banana)

Bridal brunch at Elk Cafe in Palmy.

The kumura (ahem, I mean sweet potato) mash was TDF. With poached egg, hollandaise and bacon.

Oh yes, definitely necessary to line the stomach before a big day.

Isn't that right, Lou?

Oh how I love food travels around the world!

I dip my hat to you

Nothing excites me more than winetime.

Especially after a month off the grog thanks to Dry July!

I was heading around to my friend Sam's house on the weekend and stopped by the shops to pick up some nibbly snacks. I went straight to the obvious selection - a round of cheddar to have with caramelised onion and toasted ciabatta and olives - but realised I really felt like a dip.

Nothing inspired me in the fridge section at the supermarket but I saw that avocadoes were on special so I picked up a few and had a sudden craving for guacamole.

And that was the start of my Sunday funday!

I settled on three dips - spiced carrot hommus, tzatziki and guacamole served with Turkish toasts and they totally kicked the butt of any shop bought variety. 

Extra tasty with a side of Shiraz (thanks Sam!)

I even made enough to put together a 'care package' for my grandparents (in an old J.Crew box!) Dropped it off at their place on my way to Sam's and they were over the moon - especially as they had friends over and were enjoying a G&T sans nibbles. Talk about brownie points for this favourite granddaughter!

Spiced carrot hommus

Makes enough for 4 people

Ingredients

1 carrot, peeled and finely sliced

2 tsp olive oil

1 tspn grated fresh ginger (I use the jar stuff)

2 garlic cloves (yes, I use the jar stuff!)

1 tspn ground cumin

1 tspn ground coriander

425g can chickpeas, rinsed, drained

2 Tbspn low fat natural yogurt (I used Black Swan no fat)

2 tspn lemon juice

salt and pepper

1. Boil the carrot until tender then drain and set aside
2. Heat oil in saucepan and add garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander. Cook for about 1min until fragrant. Add cooked carrot and stir to coat over heat. Remove from heat once coated and let cool
3. Put carrot mixture in bowl with chickpeas, lemon juice, yoghurt and use stick blender to process until smooth (could also use food processor or blender)
4. Add lemon and salt and pepper to taste. If too thick, add hot water until you're happy with the consistency
5. Sprinkle with zatar or dukkah for added interest
6. Serve with toasted pita bread or carrot batons

Tzatiki
Makes about 1 cup or so

1 lebanese cucumber
2 garlic cloves (or 1 heaped tspn crushed garlic from the jar in my books)
1/2 cup no fat natural yoghurt
1 squeeze lemon juice

1. Line a bowl with 2 sheets of paper towel
2. Grate the cucumber into the paper towel
3. Fold the edges of the paper towel in and squeeze the excess juice from the cucumber out of the paper towel ball. Discard juice and empty contents of paper ball into bowl
4. Add yoghurt and garlic to grated cucumber with a squeeze of lemon and mix well
5. Serve with toasted pita or Turkish bread

Guacamole
Makes about 1 cup

1 ripe avocado
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
1 small handful coriander leaves, chopped
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
juice of one lime
2 Tbs natural yogurt

1. Empty the avocado flesh into a bowl and mash with the yoghurt
2. Add the tomato, red onion and coriander and stir in the lime juice
3. Dip should be chunky and fragrant
4. Serve with a sprinkle of coriander on top
5. Delicious with tortilla chips or in a burrito