Chunky Sweet Potato & Macadamia dip

yum!

i didn't actually plan for us to have any lunch today but we ate brunch earlier than expected so got peckish. our 'tradition' is to have a snacky lunch (you know, the sort of lunch you would never dare eat any other day of the year ;)) so we had a platter with soft cheeses, rice crackers and fruit, plus another with plain potato chips, corn chips and rice chips (unfortunately discovered these flavoured one, while absolutely delicious, were not gluten free :().

anyway, i decided we needed a chunky dip to go with it all and used thermomix-er's recipe as a start. next time i would make a few changes to my version though. i also used way less oil but it ended up very thick and not at all dippable lol (though still very yummy!). this recipe also makes a large quantity - probably 3 times what you buy in the supermarket.

Chunky Sweet Potato & Macadamia Dip
80 g parmesan or grana padano
1 clove garlic
1 small sweet potato, cooked for 3-4 minutes in the microwave until a knife can go through, then cut into chunks to cool and peeled *
150 g roasted, unsalted macadamias
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
small amount of fresh coriander

Method:

Place parmesan into TM bowl and grate for 5-10 seconds on speed 7. You don’t want it too fine – some little bits are OK. Remove and set aside.

Place garlic in TM bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl and add macadamias. Chop for 15-30 seconds on speed 6. It should still have some decent sized pieces of nuts, not mush. Blend longer if you think it needs it.

Add sweet potato, coriander, olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan and blend for 30 seconds on reverse + speed 4.

Add some extra olive oil or water through the hole in the lid if the mixture appears too thick and blend a little longer.


* next time i will try peeling, then chopping & cooking it in the thermomix so it becomes less mushed