carrot dip

I started making this dip when we had lots and lots carrots in the vegie box. I think it's pretty nice with pide and olives. Others in the family are less enthusiastic.

You will need

2 or 3 large carrots grated (depending on the size of your fry pan)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
2 or 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped.
1/2 cup thick European style yoghurt, although it works fine with normal plain yoghurt
olive oil to thinly coat the pan
black pepper

To make

• Gently cook the grated carrot in the fry pan on a low to medium heat with the olive oil and a pinch of salt until the carrots wilt and change colour.
• Add the garlic, cumin and coriander and cook for a little longer.
• Allow to cool (or the yoghurt will curdle in the next step).
• Add the yoghurt and some black pepper.
• Blend the cooled mixture with a blender or bamix.
• Refrigerate for an hour or two before eating to let the flavours develop.

Rice paper salad rolls

This is a favourite spring lunch of ours. Most of the ingredients are from the garden and it's really just a fancy way of eating salad. I haven't given exact quanties, I basically make a big bowl of salad, make it into rolls and what we don't eat at lunch is a pre dinner nibble.  I serve this with lots of bottled sauces; soy sauce, ponzu, hoisin, chilli sauce.. whatever you have. Everyone mixes up their own combination of sauces.

You will need

Rice paper (Banh trang)
Cos or iceberg lettuce
Carrot
Big handful of unsalted cashews or peanuts
Coriander
Mint
Hot mint (if you have it)
Onion

To make

Firstly prepare the filling. Grate the carrot, chop several slices of onion finely. Destalk and chop the herbs. Wash and deslug the lettuce. Dry and cut into shreds. Finely chop the nuts. Mix all the salad ingredients together and set aside.

Lay a clean tea towell on your work area. Fill a bowl or tray with warm water. Slip several rice paper sheets into the water until they are softish. Pull one out and lay on teatowell. Place a roll sized amount of salad at the end nearest you. Roll away from you once. Fold in the sides. Continue rolling until you have a rice paper roll. If you wish to impress, a single leaf such as hot mint or coriander looks very nice rolled into the last layer. You can see it through the rice paper. Very flash. Continue until you run out of salad or rice paper. Serve with sauces.