When organising a dinner party I always make a dip first and have it sitting in the fridge ready to go. It means that the moment guests arrive it can then be put on a board with some lavash bread, olives and sun-dried tomatoes (2 mins to assemble tops) and given to the guests to start nibbling on while I piece together the other canapes.
Last weekend, when my parents were in Sydney, we had them over for dinner along with Scotty’s mum. I love cooking for my parents as there is no fighting over the bill at the end of the meal and it is a great opportunity to show my mum how far I have come from the days when I couldn’t cook a thing.
We started with a roasted eggplant dip, caramelised shallots and grilled goats cheese on pita bread rounds and corn cakes with avocado, chorizo and prawn. For main I served individual beef and mushroom pies with a side salad and mum brought a tasty apple pie she made earlier that day for dessert.
ROASTED EGGPLANT DIP
1 large eggplant
2 garlic cloves
Olive oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons walnuts
2 teaspoons mint leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons oregano leaves, chopped
1/2 cup natural yoghurt
1 lemon, juiced
Cut eggplant in half. Use a spoon to scoop out flesh. Place flesh into a food processor. Discard skin. Squeeze flesh from garlic. Add to food processor with walnuts, mint and oregano. Process until well combined. Transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl. Fold through yoghurt and lemon juice. Cover.
Refrigerate for 2 hours to allow flavours to develop.
Transfer dip to a serving bowl. Drizzle with oil. Serve with lavosh bread.
