Spiced carrot dip

Before moving onto the carrots that came in the veg box last week, I wanted to use those I already had in my flat. So I made two carrot dishes over the weekend. This spiced carrot dip was one of them.

To make an occasion of them, I served this vibrant orange dip with some tortilla chips that I cut into triangles with my pizza cutter, then placed on a baking sheet that was coated lightly with olive oil and baked them for a few minutes until crisp. It was a lovely change from the chickpea hummus. The spices are quite mild, but you can taste them.
Making this carrot dip, also gave me an excuse to bring out my carrot loving rabbit for aesthetic reasons you see, not so much the cute factor.

Spiced carrot dip
Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients
500g carrots, thickly sliced
1 generous teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 generous teaspoon paprika
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice from ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Place the carrots in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the carrots are very soft. Drain and set aside to cool. When cool either mash them or put them into a food processor along with all the ingredients and blend to a puree, but not too smooth, its good to have a little texture. Season to taste and serve with pitta bread chips or tortilla chips. Adapted from The Allotment Gardeners Cookbook.