Spiced Carrot Purée (Dip) with Dukkah / Puré (Dip) picante de Cenouras com Dukkah.

Last recipe for Marta, May and Carrot as the ingredient of the month!
This recipe, another one from Chef Maria Elia "Full of Flavour" book is absolutely divine to serve at a dinner party as a canapé or as part of a mezze.
Everybody can help themselves and dip the chosen bread in the carrot dip, while enjoying their drinks or cocktails.ingredients (serves 8):

for the dukkah:

100g almonds, blanched

50g coriader seeds

20g cumin seeds

75g sesame seeds

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

method:

Toast the almonds in a medium pan over a medium heat until golden.

Transfer the almond to a work surface to cool a little, then finely chop them.

Transfer to a bowl.

Add the coriander and cumin seeds to the pan and toast for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Transfer to a pestle and mortal, leave to cool completely, then coarsely grind and mix with the almonds.

Toast the sesame seeds until golden. Leave to cool, then grind, together with 2 tsp of sea salt.

Add to the almond mixture and season with black pepper.

Carrot Keftedes / Keftedes de Cenoura.

Although, usually, keftedes are made with minced meat, this vegetarian option is a great and super delicious solution for those that are avoiding meat.

Served with a simple salad, Skordalia and/or Tabbouleh, these are just perfect warm or cold.

The recipe is from Chef Maria Elia "Smashing Plates" cookbook and it's another fabulous suggestion that I'm leaving for Marta and her May "Carrot - the ingredient of the month"!

Carrot, Dill, Almond and Feta Baklava / Baklava de Cenoura, Aneto, Amêndoas e queijo Feta.

Marta's ingredient of the month are the carrots.

Most of the benefits of carrots can be attributed to their beta-carotene and fiber content but carrots are also a good source of antioxidant agents and, furthermore, carrots are rich in vitamin A, Vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B8, viamin B5, folic acid, potassium, iron, copper, and manganese so, all of these are great reasons to cook with this root vegetable.

The first recipe I made for Marta and for her "May, the month of the Carrots" is this amazingly delicious savoury Baklava.

The recipe is from Chef Maria Elia great "Full of Flavour" book, from which I've already made this absolutely fantastic soup.

Even my husband that is not very keen on dishes with pastry, loved it and didn't stop talking about how delicious it was and how much he loved it.

A fabulous vegetarian dish that I truly recommend!

Jerusalem artichoke and Chestnut Soup with Chorizo and Apple / Sopa de Girassol batateiro e Castanhas, com Chouriço e Maçã.

When you think you add all the possible Jerusalem artichoke soup combinations that can be, and that this kind of soup can't be improved anymore, here comes another fabulous combination that leaves you on your knees. Yes!! and I promise, I'm not exagerating.

Just check under the "soup" label here on the blog and you'll see how many Jerusalem artichoke soups I made already! Not just one, two or three but more than that and all of them, absolutely delicious!

As I had a bag of Jerusalem artichokes in the fridge, as soon as I saw this recipe in one of Chef Maria Elia books, the "Full of Flavour" book, of course, I couldn't hold myself but use them artichokes in this recipe.

No words!!! A true delight and that's another reason why I love this ingredient so much. Absolutely divine!

Jerusalem artichoke Blinis topped with blue cheese / Blinis de Girassol batateiro com queijo azul.

You know I'm a huge Jerusalem artichoke lover. If you look up at the "Jerusalem artichoke" label here on the blog, you'll find loads of recipes with this amazing ingredient.

Every year, as soon as they are in season and I find them, I can't resist buying a whole lot of them.

This recipe, featured in the absolutely gorgeous book "The Modern Vegetarian", from the very well known Chef Maria Elia, is a true stunner!!

Just try to make it and serve it as a starter at a dinner party and your guests will love you forever!!

Honestly, although it looks very posh and labour intense, it's so, so easy to make that the smiles on your guests faces will be the best reward you'll get for such little work.

You can make the blinis in advance and gently reheat them in the oven before serving. As for the cheese, if you don't like blue cheese, you can use other kind of cheese, like pecorino, goat's cheese, manchego or other cheese you like.

If you don't like Jerusalem artichokes, you can use parsnips or none, if you don't like either of them, and use just potatoes.