I know in my last post I told you to ditch the chip and dip and make bacon-wrapped dates, but dips are a good thing to have in your culinary arsenal. (Does that even make sense?)

Whether it’s with served with crackers, chips or a crudite platter, dip is easy and a crowd-pleaser. This one is inspired by *again* Simon Hopkinson’s Piedmontese peppers. You roast the peppers in the oven, blitz them in the blender, then whisk the red pepper puree with softened cream cheese. Season, and that’s it! I used one large bell pepper for this, so the measurements are not exact- you may need to add more cream cheese to reach the right consistency.

ROASTED RED PEPPER DIP (Inspired by this recipe.)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large clove garlic
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• Chilli flakes (optional)

METHOD

• Preheat oven o 190 C
• Wash your red pepper, remove the stalk and seeds and cut it into quarters/large chunks.
• Place your red peppers and large clove of garlic in a baking dish, season with flaky sea salt and black pepper, and drizzle with olive oil till evenly coated.
• Bake at 190 C for 40 minutes until the peppers are tender and fragrant.
• Once cooled, transfer the pepper chunks and garlic, along with the pan juices, to a blender. Blend to make a smooth puree.
• Transfer the puree to a bowl, add softened cream cheese and whisk till smooth. If you’d like a thicker dip, add more cream cheese.
• Add more salt and pepper to taste and top with chilli flakes if you want to.