A dip plate or a crudité platter is as cooling but more fun than a salad. You can go as simple or as elaborate as you want. And dips are a great way to explore climate-smart foods that aren’t normally in your rotation.
In not very much time and using a small and simple food processor, I made a couple of dips that I’ll be able to enjoy in lots of different combinations for the rest of the week. Here they are:
Jalapeño and roasted garlic split pea dip
Split peas I associate with split pea soup, which I associate with sludge. But if you approach split peas with fresh love and curiosity, you can yield something nice and delicious.
Best of all, split peas — like other beans, pulses, legoooooooms (legumes) — are little climate superheroes. They deliver protein and high nutrition using far fewer resources than meat. They revitalize the soil in which they’re grown (by pulling in nitrogen, pulses can help reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers, which harm workers’ health and create obscene levels of pollution).
Ingredients:
Split peas, jalapeños, garlic, olive oil, salt, apple cider vinegar
Instructions:
Cook split peas: Add 2/3 cup dried split peas to pot and fill with 1 and 1/2 cups water or broth (I used water and a bay leaf). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Let simmer until peas absorb all liquid, about 20 minutes.
Saute 1 jalapeño and 2-3 garlic cloves in olive oil over low heat for a few minutes. Add another jalapeño if you really like heat!
Add cooked split peas (which should yield about a cup now) to food processor, jalapeno and garlic in olive oil and salt. Mix. You might want to add a touch more olive oil.
Add apple cider vinegar slowly to food processor to complete mixing. Start with a tablespoon or two. I used a few tablespoons.
Anchovy-clam dip
Like the oysters I wrote about, anchovies and clams are low-on-the-food chain and therefore environmentally friendly. They’re perfect to make meals out of during the summer, when your appetite is lower and your heart is at the beach.
Clam dip is retro. I know this because I love retro cookbooks and those IG accounts that show all the crazy dishes people made then. Everyone seemed to be making drug-fueled, gelatin-based recipes. I think I’ll call them food sculptures? They’re like lawn art that you can (technically) eat.
Anyway, apparently clam dip was huge in 1960s and 70s America. But let’s be real - it was more a cheese dip with clams in it. Here’s a modern, more seafood-forward version that’s also creamy and flavorful.
1 tin anchovies (2 oz)
1 can chopped clams (6.5 oz)
Handful of chives
1 glug of balsamic vinegar
Peanut dip
The peanut is neither a pea nor a nut. Discuss.
It’s a legume!
This dip is pretty much like the peanut sauce that comes with satay. I’d like to make a lemongrass version of this next time.
Ingredients: peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, dried chili peppers or fresh hot peppers, chopped Thai basil or lemongrass
Instructions:
Saute 2 cloves fresh garlic and 1 tbsp of dried chili peppers or 2 tbsp of fresh hot peppers - depending on your garlic and heat level preferences — in oil for a few minutes. Lower heat.
Mix in 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter.
Mix in about 1 cup coconut milk, two splashes soy sauce and basil.
Simmer until sauce thickens.
Let cool and whiz through food processor for a nice, even consistency.
What summery things are you making right now? Let me know if you end up trying any of these!
What else is on my mind:
It’s hard to think about anything else in terms of culture and public life. I’m excited!
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