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Recipe

Spring platter of bread, dips and roasted asparagus and radishes

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Spring platter of bread, dips and roasted asparagus and radishes

Fresh, seasonal and packed with flavour, guests will love digging in to these dips before the main event.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Appetizer and Starters, Snacks and Sides
Servings 6
Gluten Free

Ingredients
  

Hummus with olives

  • 400 g canned chickpeas rinsed and drained (reserve a few to garnish)
  • 1 tablespoon tahini paste
  • 1 clove garlic small
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons ice-cold water
  • black and green olives a few chopped, to garnish
  • flat-leaf parsley chopped to garnish (optional)

Spring herb and almond pesto

  • 1 cup flat-leaf parsley or basil roughly chopped
  • 1 cup picked mint leaves
  • ½ cup roast almonds plus extra to serve
  • 1 clove garlic small
  • ½ lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan optional

Avocado pea and feta smash

  • ½ cup peas or edamame beans fresh or defrosted from frozen
  • 1 just-ripe avocado flesh large
  • ½ lemon juice
  • 50 g feta
  • chilli flakes optional

Roasted asparagus and radishes

  • 1-2 bunches asparagus spears
  • 1-2 bunches baby radishes
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • lemon wedge
  • shaved parmesan optional

To serve

  • warmed or toasted bread optional (eg sliced ciabatta, French bread, pita, flatbreads etc, gluten free if required)

Instructions
 

Hummus with olives:

  • Place all ingredients except garnishes in a food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste with more salt, pepper and more lemon juice if needed.
  • Garnish with chopped olives and parsley if desired.

Spring herb and almond pesto:

  • Place ingredients in a processor and blitz until well mixed but still has texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with extra chopped almonds.

Avocado pea and feta smash:

  • Roughly crush peas (or edamame beans) with fork. Add avocado and lemon juice and roughly mash (but be sure to leave some texture). Crumble in feta. Season to taste. Sprinkle with chilli flakes if using.

Roasted asparagus and radishes:

  • Preheat oven to 220°C.
  • Trim asparagus and radishes. Halve radishes (or quarter if large). Place in a roasting dish, dot with butter and season with salt and pepper.
  • Roast for 8-10 minutes, tossing once. Squeeze over lemon just before serving. Shave over parmesan if desired.

Notes

Good platters are designed to bring people together, and this assortment is no exception. Hummus and pesto are crowd-pleasers, and so easy to make at home, and my avocado, pea and feta smash is a fresh-tasting take of guacamole. Try making a double batch of pesto and freeze in ice cube trays for homemade pesto whenever you want it – perfect for stirring through fresh pasta. I couldn’t create a spring platter without a good serving of seasonal veges. Asparagus and radishes are simply roasted with butter and served with a wedge of lemon.
If you like you can complete your platter with your choice of warm or toasted bread (sliced ciabatta, French bread, pita, flatbreads all work a treat, use gluten-free if required) and enjoy. Crudites of carrot, celery, cucumber and capsicum would also work great if you’d like a lighter platter.