Here is the new recipe, a spicy Tex-Mex dip that I served with flatbread nachos. A dip that lasted twenty seconds here, we finished it immediately! 😀
Yes, indeed, the Monday Light and Tasty column today introduces a new topic never covered before! The world cuisine, revisited in a light or personalized way. A topic fascinating to me, which I hope will be repeated every season from now on. 😊
For this first release, I really enjoyed myself, from choosing the recipe among the countless ones I wanted to try, to the difficulty in finding the only ingredient I didn’t have (oh, always like that eh!) but when inspired, you always end up finding a solution, to seeing how much it was liked, in short, a recipe that gave me the utmost satisfaction!
And so here is my first – who knows, the first of a long series! – Tex-Mex recipe: a spicy dip slightly seasoned and mildly sweet and sour, ideal as an accompaniment to nachos, tortilla chips, croutons, bruschetta, bread, breadsticks, crackers, basically anything you want, even vegetables, like crudités. And I can assure you, having tried it, that it is also excellent on meat and potatoes. Not to mention the Romagna-style nachos made with flatbread, which were really a delicious discovery for me.
So, have I convinced you? 😀
👇 And then, if you need another spicy dip, or not, for your next happy hour, here are three more ideas: 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 3 small bowls
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 2.5 oz red bell pepper
- 2.5 oz red onion
- 1 tomato (about 5 oz)
- 3 tbsps tomato sauce
- 1 hot chili pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional second tablespoon)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 2 flatbreads
Tools
- Pan
- Oven or Mini Oven
Steps
Dice the onion, bell pepper, and tomato into small cubes.
Sauté the onion and bell pepper with the garlic in a tablespoon of oil.
After about 10 minutes of cooking the onion and bell pepper, add the diced tomato and the tomato sauce.
👉 You can adjust the amount of tomato sauce to taste; I used only 2 tablespoons, but I wouldn’t have minded if the dip was more tomatoey. That’s why I’ve indicated an extra tablespoon in the ingredients.
Add the chili pepper, the half teaspoon of sugar, the teaspoon of vinegar, a pinch of cumin seeds, and a quick dusting of cinnamon.
Mix well and cook covered for another 20-25 minutes over low heat.
☝ During cooking, I added 2-3 tablespoons of water to prevent it from drying out too much, but using more tomato sauce may make this unnecessary.
At the end of cooking, optionally add a second tablespoon of raw oil and let the dip cool down; it’s best served at room temperature.
Serve in individual small bowls accompanied by the flatbread nachos or corn or vegetable chips, all to be dipped directly into the dip in true finger food style.
While the spicy Tex-Mex dip is cooking, there is plenty of time to prepare the flatbread chips:
Place the flatbread on a baking sheet, cut it into strips, then cut each strip into triangles.
Bake the triangles in the oven (preferably on the top rack) for about 10 minutes at 392°F. As soon as they start to brown, they’re ready.
☝ Cutting the flatbread into triangles is a straightforward task using precooked flatbreads (the packaged ones you find in the fridge section).
☝ If you prefer to make homemade flatbreads, you can proceed in two ways: either pre-cooking the flatbreads briefly before cutting them (to make them similar to the packaged ones), or cutting them before cooking (as you do for homemade crackers). In this second case, I recommend placing the rolled-out flatbread onto a sheet of parchment paper before cutting the triangles, so you don’t have to transfer them to the baking sheet one by one.
Salt-Free Tips
This dip is spicy and seasoned, it’s really full of flavor! and thus perfect to be made without added salt. Try it! 😉
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Reduce salt gradually, the palate needs to get used to it slowly and should not notice the gradual reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that preserve flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Sometimes allow yourself a break from the rule. It lifts your mood and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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In my new WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page and Pinterest, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you want… subscribe to my Newsletter.
Light and Tasty:
What world recipes have my colleagues from the Light and Tasty Team cooked? Find out by clicking them all!
Carla Emilia: Swordfish Ceviche
Daniela: Oat and Blackberry Cake
Elena: Chicken in Dukkah Crust from Egypt
Milena: Mango Chutney
Serena: Yogurt Pancakes
FAQ
Why is it called a “dip” sauce?
In English, dip means to dunk, it is a term usually used to define appetizer or starter sauces served with croutons or raw vegetable sticks to dip directly into the sauce.
What type of chili pepper should be used in Mexican dip sauces?
Usually, the chili pepper to use is the jalapeño (preferably fresh), but other varieties of chili peppers can also be used according to taste and the level of spiciness desired. Alternatively, Tabasco sauce can be used (in small quantities because it’s very spicy and salty).
