Christmas Nibbles - Breadsticks and Dips

The perfect Christmas nibble - these bread sticks are moreish on their own and even better dipped into colouful dips. The dips are easy to make and can be prepped in advance.

Festive Bread Sticks

Prep time: 2 hours | Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Dietary: Vegan | Makes 12

Ingredients

• 250g organic strong white flour
• ½ tbsp dried active yeast
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 220ml warm water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 tsp paprika plus more for sprinkling

Method

1. Whisk together the yeast, sugar and warm water, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place until frothy, which takes about 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl mix the flour and salt together, then add the olive oil and stir in the frothy yeast mixture.
3. Mix by hand or in a Kenwood with a dough hook to a soft ball.
4. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
7. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into an A4 sized rectangle. With the long side facing you, brush one half of the dough with the olive oil and sprinkle over the sesame seeds, parsley, garlic, salt and paprika. Fold the unseeded half of the dough over the seeded dough, press down and roll out again to A4 size.
8. With the long side facing you, cut the dough into 12 x 2.5cm wide strips with a large knife. Twist each strip a few times, place onto the baking tray and sprinkle with more paprika.
9. Pre-heat the oven to 200CFan.
10. Leave the breadsticks for 20 minutes to rise slightly. When the breadsticks have risen a little, bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Beetroot Dip

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cooking Time: 1 hour

Dietary: Vegan, Gluten free | Serves 4

Ingredients

• 300ml beetroot puree (approx 2 medium beetroot)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• Pinch of salt
• 300ml yoghurt
• 1tsp ground cumin more to garnish top
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Method

1. Wash the beetroot gently so as not to damage the skin, keeping the root on. This will prevent the bright red juice bleeding away into the cooking water.
2. Boil the beetroot in their skins in plenty of water until tender, depending on size it will take about an hour.
3. Drain, leave to cool and then peel, chop and blend to a smooth puree in a blender or food processor.
4. Crush the garlic with a pinch of salt until it is a smooth paste and mix in with the yoghurt.
5. Stir the beetroot puree into the yoghurt.
6. Stir in the ground cumin, olive oil and vinegar. Check for seasoning, add salt to taste.
7. Serve garnished with ground cumin with bread sticks.

Green Herb Dip

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Dietary: Vegan, Gluten-free | Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g can chickpeas, drained
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 50g herbs – parsley, coriander, mint
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Roughly chop the herbs.
2. Put the chickpeas into a food processor with the tahini, chopped garlic, chopped herbs, juice of 1 lemon, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Blitz until smooth.
3. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper and salt.
4. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil to serve. Serve with bread sticks.

Delicious food photography by Rob Wicks of Eat Pictures.

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