We have Bible Study tonight and I’m in charge of snacks. What in the world am I going to bring? My husband can’t have dairy, starches, sugar, corn or soy, another lady can’t have gluten, eggs or dairy, and yet another can’t have certain fruits or nuts. What in the world could be a good snack for a lot of people (probably 20 or more), healthy, yummy and that most people can eat? Usually I think of sweet snacks for Bible Study, like coffee cake, cookies, scones, cakes, crackers and all other sorts of starches! I know I’m not the only one who thinks this way, so I decided I would try pretty hard to accommodate as many people as possible and yet make it yummy, exciting and good!

So… after much deliberation I decided on making a roasted red pepper spread that I had seen in the July 2011 Real Simple Magazine with carrots and celery, with some homemade nut crackers , pears and oranges. Not super exciting, but good, easy to feed lot of people and a good variety to hopefully accommodate as many as possible!

The dip turned out GREAT! It was a little spicy and quite a bite to it, but worked well with the carrots and celery. I’m sure it would also taste GREAT with pita chips… but I didn’t have any and didn’t want to make a special trip out to get any. Also, the recipe below is exactly what Real Simple published. I didn’t make any changes (AMAZING right?!?!), except that I didn’t have enough walnuts, so I just added almonds to total the ½ cup needed. Oh! And I left out the sugar!

Roasted Red Pepper, Walnut and Tahini Party Dip

Serves 20 (makes 1 1/4 cups)| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 20m

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
sea salt and black pepper
pita chips, for serving

Instructions:
1. Heat broiler to high. Place the bell peppers on a rimmed baking sheet and broil, turning occasionally, until charred, 8 to 12 minutes; let cool, then remove the skins and seeds.
2. In a food processor, (I did it in the Vita Mix and it worked great) combine the bell peppers, walnuts, tahini, vinegar, sugar, cumin, and cayenne and puree until smooth. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Serve with the pita chips.

Recipe By Dawn Perry, July 2011

Do you like it?  Let me know!