I had a bag of carrots in the fridge that I was supposed to use to make a soup, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I am normally not a big fan of carrots, unless I am using them to dip into homemade hummus. Hmmmm, dipping carrots into hummus, I wonder if I can make carrots into a dip? Of course I can! Anything is possible, especially when you have a large collection of cooking magazines to browse through 🙂

You won’t be surprised that I found the inspiration for this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. I have noticed that I am referencing them a lot lately. But that is OK, since their recipes are always amazing and delicious!

When I was looking through an issue that was released earlier this year, I found exactly what I was looking for – Moroccan Carrot Dip. Perfect!

Of course, I did make a few variations 😉 The original recipe called for cumin and coriander, but I just substituted with medium curry powder. I also increased the amount of chili powder that was used.

While the carrots were cooking and I had tossed them with the curry powder, chili powder and cinnamon, I took a sample. Now this was not the dip yet, just carrots cut up and cooking on top of the stove, but they tasted amazing. I never would have guessed that tossing carrots with curry powder and other spices would enhance their flavour so much. I am actually going to do the same spice combination the next time we have carrots for dinner. So, thanks to this recipe, I am bringing carrots back into our regular vegetable rotation!

Once the carrots were done cooking, I added the final splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar. I couldn’t believe how tasty and easy this recipe was. Carrot Dip, who knew?

When it came time to sample, we actually topped the dip with red onions instead of the recommended cilantro. I find carrots to be relatively sweet, so I thought the sharpness of the onions would be a nice compliment. I wasn’t disappointed.

We served this with a selection of cut up vegetables (cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers) and some multi-grain flatbreads. It provided a delicious, guilt free dip! Vegetables dipped in vegetables – Awesome!

If we were living life on the edge, I guess we could have dipped carrots into our carrot dip, but maybe that would have been a bit too crazy!

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Adapted from:
America’s Test Kitchen
Summer 2012 Light & Healthy

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lbs carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 2 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp minced red onion

Directions:

1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add carrots and a pinch of salt.  Cook until carrots begin to soften, eight to ten minutes.
2. Stir in garlic, curry powder, chili powder and cinnamon and cook until fragrant, about thirty seconds.  Add water and bring to a simmer.  Cover, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally until carrots are tender twenty-five to thirty minutes.
3. Off the heat, mash the carrots with a potato masher, leaving a few course pieces for texture.  Stir in the remaining olive oil and red wine vinegar.
4. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until the dip is chilled, two hours or more.
5. Just before serving, sprinkle with salt and pepper and minced red onion.
6. Serve with an assortment of cut up veggies for an über healthy vegetable dip 🙂