Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Cacik Dips

If you love Turkish food, you'd be surprised to know just how simple it is to create some of your favourite dishes at home.

I've already shared the Lamb Shish Kebab, Beef Kofte Kebabs and Healthy Chicken Shish Kebabs but what about the delicious dips to go alongside? So here are two of our favourite dips that would be fantastic with some fresh bread and any of those dishes; Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Cacik.

Cacik is very similar to Tzatziki (although this of course originates in Greece) except rather than using mint (although in some cases mint is used), in my experience this is often flavoured with fronds of dill.

As I am on a never-ending quest to shift some weight, I often use low fat or fat free yoghurt for Cacik, but you will get a creamier version if you use full fat natural yoghurt, and if you are lucky enough to live close to any shops that stock Turkish produce, I strongly recommend finding a Turkish Yoghurt which is super thick and creamy and makes for a really authentic Cacik.

Cacik and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Cacik

Here's how:

• 3 tbsp yoghurt (fat free if you want a lower calorie version, Turkish or Greek full fat if you want the authentic version and to tell with the calories)
• 1 cucumber
• 1 clove of garlic
• Pinch of salt
• Handful of dill fronds, finely chopped

In a small bowl add the yoghurt and salt. 

Grate the cucumber down and add to the yoghurt. 

Peel and mince the garlic and add to the yoghurt. 

Finely chop the dill fronds and add to the yoghurt then give it all a good mix and spoon into your serving dish; or cover and place into the fridge until you need. 

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

There are tons of varieties of hummus out there, but this is our favourite, taking flavour from those delightful jarred roasted red peppers. If you don't have any and/or can't get hold of them, you can simply place a whole red pepper into the oven at a very high heat and roast until charred all over. Then remove from the oven, allow to cool, and peel off the charred skin and remove the lid, and the seeds inside. 

Here's how:

• 1 large roasted red pepper
• 1 tin of chickpeas
• 2 tbsp tahini 
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• Olive oil

For this you will need a food processor or if you have one, a Nutribullet. 

Firstly drain off the tin of chickpeas and add 90% of the tin to the Nutribullet or blender (save a few for garnish). Add the tahini and squeeze in the juice of the lemon.

Now peel and mince the garlic and add with the salt and pepper and the roasted red pepper. 

Pour in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Now put the blender lid on and blitz. You will most likely need more like 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil to get a smoother, runnier consistency, but if you add a little at a time, and just blend until you are happy with the consistency.

Once ready, place into the fridge for later with a lid on or dish up into you serving dish and scatter over the remaining chickpeas. If you are making ahead of time, and you find the hummus has gone a little dry in the fridge, just add a few drops more olive oil and mix again with a fork or spoon or give another quick blitz.

Lamb Shish Kebab

These lamb shish kebabs, are a real tasty fakeaway treat for all of the family - much needed at the moment while we're all self-isolating. We had this last night with some Healthy Chicken Shish Kebabs, Turkish giant couscous, flatbreads, Cacik and Hummus and a lovely feta salad and we got the Turkish music blaring on YouTube and even opened some Efes to make us feel like we might be at a restaurant.

You can play around with the spicing to your personal taste. and the longer you marinate the meat for, the better, more flavourful and more tender it will be. 

The below cooks them to 'medium rare' with just a blushing pink in the centre; if you prefer your lamb cooked right through, just cook for longer. 

I cooked this under our grill last night - but you could of course cook on a barbecue too; although it's a bit trickier to get the timing right on coals or gas. 

I have included below for a 'vegetable skewer' which is just a lovely accompaniment to have charred onion and red pepper with your kebabs, but you could alternatively thread the lamb kebabs with the onion and pepper too or omit if you're not keen.

Lamb Shish Kebab

Here's how:

• 500g lamb leg 
• 3 tbsp natural yoghurt
• Juice and body of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp Harissa paste (you can substitute for tomato puree if you don't have harissa)

For the vegetable skewer:

• 1 red pepper
• 1 large white onion

For post-cooking:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

A few hours before you wish to cook the kebabs, or even better, the night before; chop the lamb into small 2cm cubes, and place into a plastic container big enough to contain the meat and the marinade.

Now add the natural yoghurt, olive oil, harissa paste and all of the spices. 

Meanwhile roughly chop the garlic, and throw into the mix, and half the lemon and squeeze out the juice directly into the container, then throw in the remaining lemon halves.

Now use a spoon and mix thoroughly to ensure every piece of lamb is immersed in the marinade. 

When ready to cook, thread each piece of meat onto one of your skewers, and pack the meat on fairly tightly. 

For the vegetable skewer, cut the red pepper into 2 cm square-ish shaped and sized pieces and the same for the onion, and thread onto another skewer. 

Now place all of the skewers under a hot grill, for four minutes, then carefully turn over and cook for a further four minutes, which should make for medium rare lamb. 

In the meantime, pour into a small bowl or ramekin the 1 tbsp olive oil, and squeeze in the lemon juice. (You could also add a crushed garlic clove or some freshly chopped parsley if you wish.)

Remove from the grill, and place onto a plate to rest for four minutes whilst you assemble the rest of your dish. 

When you place onto a platter or onto individual plates, then use the olive oil and lemon mixture and a pastry brush and simply brush each kebab with the oil. Enjoy!

If you love a kebab you may also like the recipes for some of the below:

Healthy Chicken Shish Kebabs

Greek-style Chicken Souvlaki

Pork Souvlaki

Beef Kofte Kebabs

Tzatziki