Halloween Vegetable Dip Recipes

HALLOWEEN 7 LAYER DIP

Steps:

• To a large bowl, add refried black beans and taco seasoning and mix well to combine.
• In a baking dish or serving platter (I used a 9-inch pie dish), layer beans, salsa, lettuce, olives, cheese, and diced tomato. Cover with guacamole, spreading it into a smooth layer.
• Add sour cream on top, using a squeeze bottle to draw a spider web shape. (I started by drawing intersecting lines in an asterisk/star shape across the dish, then curved lines in between to connect them!)
• Garnish the edge of the dish with more diced tomatoes, olives, and cheese. Serve with your favorite dippers!
• Yields 8 servings Halloween 7 layer dip.

HALLOWEEN BRAIN DIP

Steps:

• Wash cauliflower.
• Cut florets from the top of the cauliflower until you have a cauliflower 'bowl'.
• Remove greens from bottom. Cut stems from radishes, leave the root which will look like an optic nerve, and remove skin but leave a little to resemble blood shot eyes/veins.
• Hollow out the cut end of the radish with the tip of a knife so to stuff with olive. Use a toothpick to hold everything together.
• Line your "bowl" with aluminum foil or a clear cling wrap so dip doesn't escape.
• Fill cauliflower with dip, garnish with radish 'eyes', pepper nose and onion mouth, and serve with veggies and crackers.

HALLOWEEN VEGETABLE TRAY WITCH WITH HERB DIP

Steps:

• For the herb dip: Combine the spinach, parsley, scallions, dill, lemon juice and olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the sour cream, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Process to make a smooth dip. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate while you make the veggie witch, or refrigerate up to 1 day.
• For the vegetable witch: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and prepare an ice bath. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and simmer until bright green, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the ice bath to cool. Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry. Add the green beans to the boiling water and simmer until bright green, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the ice bath to cool. Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry.
• Set a large cutting board or platter on the counter with the short side closest to you. Arrange the broccoli florets in an inverted triangle on the lower half of the cutting board to make the witch's face. Add the radish slices for eyes and top with the cherry tomato slices for eyeballs. Add a spinach leaf right above each eye for eyebrows. Cut a 2-inch length from the pointy end of the carrot for the nose then cut a thin slice from the remaining piece of carrot on the bias for the mouth and arrange both pieces on the face.
• Arrange the green beans, pointy side down, on each side of the face for hair. Arrange the longest asparagus spears in a triangle shape at the top of the face for the witch's hat. Trim the remaining spears and arrange on the top left of the hat to make a crooked point for the hat.
• Gather the microgreens or arugula at the top of the face for bangs. Arrange the cucumber slices horizontally over top to make the brim of the hat so the bangs stick out. Cut a thin lengthwise slice from the carrot and trim to make a band for the hat. Set the baby bell pepper slice in the middle to make a buckle.
• Arrange the rainbow baby carrots, celery and cauliflower around the witch to fill in the platter. Serve with the dip.

HALLOWEEN DIPS & BITES

Steps:

• For the creepy bites, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Use biscuit cutters to stamp out shapes from the tortillas (we used a ghost, cat and witch's hat). Brush all over with oil. Take half the bites and dip one side into the seeds, then spread the bites out on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 mins until crisp. Can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container.
• For the hellfire spread, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss together the butternut squash and oil, then season. Place on a shallow baking tray and roast for 20-30 mins until browned. Leave to cool. Whizz the squash together with the cumin and mascarpone, season and serve. Can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge.
• For the slime sludge, place all the ingredients in a blender or mortar. Whizz or mash everything together until smooth. Serve immediately or the avocado will discolour.