Tricolore Dip

A few weeks ago I had a lovely weekend in Wellington. It was a bit of a foodie weekend for me, with visits to some great shops like Commonsense Organics and Moore Wilson’s (and a super-duper meal for my brother’s birthday at Ortega Fish Shack). I felt perversely grateful that I don’t live in the windy city as, if I did, I would be completely bankrupt because of all of the wonderful goodies begging to be purchased. Clearly most of Wellington feels the same – these shops were buzzing.

We were visiting friends for lunch, so we bought some treats. One of these was a very cute little tricolore dip. It had everything going for it in terms of both looks and taste. Immediately I wondered if I could make a raw version – and this is what resulted. It’s fiddly to make, but if you want to make an effort for a special occasion (or you have vegan friends to impress) then here’s your recipe.

Strictly speaking, it is three recipes – rolled (well, stacked) into one. Each of the individual components is great in itself, but even better in combination with the others.

Macadamia Cream Cheese (White layer)

Inspired by two Rene(e)s who have taught me a lot about raw food: Renee McReady and Rene Archner.

1 cup macadamias, soaked at least 4 hours and drained (discard water)

½ lemon, juiced

½ teaspoon sea salt (optional)

1 teaspoon savoury yeast flakes

1 clove garlic, crushed

Water (approximately ¼ cup)

1 probiotic capsule

Make macadamia cream cheese by combining first 5 ingredients in a blender and processing until smooth, adding small amounts of water gradually (until desired consistency is reached).  Do not add too much; you need a firm texture for this layer. Break open probiotic capsule, pour in the contents and mix again.

Suspend in a nut milk bag or a strainer lined with muslin and leave at room temperature to drain overnight. In the morning it should be close to the consistency of cream cheese. Place in fridge.

Sundried Tomato Pesto (Red Layer)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped and soaked at least two hours in enough water to cover, and drained (if tomatoes are organic, reserve water – otherwise discard and use fresh water as directed below)

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup raw cashew nuts, soaked 2 hours and drained well

1-2 teaspoons miso paste

Black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients (with half of the water drained from the tomatoes or about 3 tablespoons fresh water) in a blender and mix until thick and creamy. Add reserved water 1 tablespoon at a time to control the consistency of the sauce – you want a consistency similar to the macadamia cream cheese (or slightly softer). Place in fridge.

Pestomole (Green Layer)

1/2 cup basil leaves

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/4 cup pinenuts

2 tablespoons olive oil

splash of lime or lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 large or 1/2 small ripe avocado, roughly chopped

Place all ingredients besides avocado in a mini blender or food processor. Add avocado and process again briefly until just combined. Leave slightly chunky; this layer will have a thinner consistency than the other layers.

Tricolore Dip – construction

Alternate layers of white, red and green on a small plate – I made a circle approximately 10cm in diameter. (The lower red and green layers in mine are a bit thin – next time I would make them more even). I used two layers of each, and then pressed a round cookie cutter (rinsed in warm water) over the whole mound, removed the excess around the sides, and then carefully removed the cookie cutter. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, just leave as a freeform circle – it still looks good. Garnish with small basil leaves or edible flower petals and a curled slice of red chilli.

Voila! Tricolore dip (and yes, I know this is the Italian tricolore, not the French version. But I didn’t think a blueberry layer would work, and I don’t know the Italian word for “voila!” (Let me know if you do.)