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+ servings
Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Dip
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 
This recipe came about spontaneously. Running late for a late summer potluck, I did the thing that comes most naturally to me in the kitchen – roast a bunch of vegetables and blend them into a delicious dip. (Further examples of the technique here and here.) The resulting roasted tomato and red pepper dip was rich and velvety, with concentrated tomato flavor and wonderfully sweet flecks of charred red pepper.
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Makes: 6 servings
Author: Elizabeth Stark
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup raw hulled pepitas soaked in cold water overnight or covered with boiling water for 15 minutes
  • 5 medium tomatoes, cored, quartered, and seeded
  • 1 handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 - 4 medium red peppers, cored, halved, and seeded
  • 1 jalapeño, cored, halved, and seeded
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • sea salt
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley, basil, savory, thyme, marjoram, and sage)
  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. The night before, soak pepitas in a large bowl of cold water. If you're pressed for time, pour boiling water over pepitas and soak 15 minutes. (Keep in mind that while the boiling method is faster, it kills many of the beneficial enzymes in the seeds.)
  2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and move baking rack to top third of oven.

  3. Arrange tomatoes and peppers on a large baking sheet. Cut the woody end off the garlic cloves, but leave the papery skin on. Tuck cloves near the tomatoes on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
  4. Roast vegetables 30 - 35 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft with bubbling juices and the edges of the vegetables have begun to char. Set aside the cool.
  5. Squeeze garlic out of the papery skins. Set in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Scrape in roasted vegetables and any accumulated juices. Drain pepitas and add to bowl. Add herbs, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons olive oil, and process until mixture is smooth. Taste and add sea sat as needed. If mixture is very thick, add up to 1 more tablespoon olive oil and a splash of sherry vinegar to taste.

  6. Dip can be served right away, but flavors will develop even more if left in the fridge overnight. Allow dip to come to room temperature before serving with pita triangles, sliced bread, or crackers or as a sandwich spread.
  7. Dip will keep up to 5 days covered on the fridge.