Roasted Fennel and Pumpkin Seed Dip

This vegan dip made with roasted fennel bulbs and soaked pumpkin seeds is the amazing dip you'd have ever tasted. This dip can be served with veggies, fresh pita, or pita chips. This can also be a great spread for sandwiches and wraps.

Whether you serve this to your family or on a crudite platter, this dip will be loved by everyone. This vegan dip is so amazing to serve with anything. I love to serve with veggies and Vegan Spicy Chickpea, Oat, and Carom  Crackers. Pita bread or chips are also a great pairing for this dip.My personal favorites are crackers, carrots, and mini peppers with this dip. This dip is easy to prepare and hence this is a great one to serve on a vegan grazing board.

Fennel bulbs are used in this recipe. These are anise bulbs. They are amazing to be added to salads and soups. I love to use them in chutneys too and that's how this dip also came into existence. Pumpkin seed dip is quite common and when I tried adding roasted fennel to it, we loved the resulting dip. 

This dip requires a good amount of lemon juice and vinegar to notch up the flavors. The added ginger gives a wonderful bite and I love the gingery flavor. I added asafetida, love its pungent flavor, to give additional boost. If you can't find it, this can be omitted, but I strongly recommend it.

This dip is very easy to prepare. Just roast the fennel and garlic, blanch the spinach, add everything to the food processor and you have an amazing dip ready. This dip makes a good, sizable quantity. So, halve the recipe, if you want smaller portions. This dip can be refrigerated for a week to ten days in an airtight container.

In our Shhhh secret cooking challenge group, we partner up with a buddy and give two secret ingredients to each other for a chosen theme of the month. This month's theme is"Stick to Seeds"! We share our photograph of the food made using this ingredient to the rest of the group to guess. It is very interesting to guess the secret ingredient, a fun game, and if you like to join, click here for details. 

My partner for this month is Preethi of Preethi's Cuisine. She gave me ginger and rice vinegar as secret ingredients, and I made this delicious and healthy dip with pumpkin seeds. In turn, I gave her almond and jaggery as secret ingredients, and using these she made amazing laddoos, Flaxseed and Almond Ladoos! Sounds addictive, right? Preethi has an amazing collection of yummy recipes and love her Mini Khara Bun.

I am part of another similar group, Potluck Party, where we share a recipe each month on the last Saturday of the month. Sue of Palatable Pastime hosts this event and this is the very first edition of this party! Pretty excited to be a part of this fun group sharing amazing recipes. Check here if you want to hop onboard.

We love dips and who doesn't? Chip and dip are part and parcel of any gathering and are great for game day too! Piquant Veggie Bagel Spread is one of our family favorite, lip-smacking dip for bread, naan, and veggies and Cheesy Corn Dip is a tasty, cheesy dip that will always be welcome at any time.  For more desi flavor, try the Chapata Paneer Chole 7 Layer Dip that can feed a crowd. Tropical salsa is amazing too, with sweet and spicy flavors, healthier too just like this fennel and pumpkin seed dip.

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I am also linking this to Happiness is Homemeade, Share The Wealth, Thursday Favorite Things, and Full Plate Thursday!

Ingredients

Makes about 4 cups

Fennel - 2 medium sized bulbs

Garlic - 3

Pumpkin seeds - 1 cup

Salt - 2 and 1/4 tsp

Lemon juice - 7 tbsp

Lemon zest - 1 tsp

Olive oil - 1/2 cup plus 1 tsp

Spinach - 3 cups, blanched

Dill - 2 tbsp

Parsley - 2 tbsp

Green onions - 2, sliced

Ginger - 3-in piece

Rice vinegar - 4 tbsp

Asafetida - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1.5 tsp

Black pepper - 1/8 tsp

Chili flakes - 1 tbsp

Oil - 1 tsp

For Garnish

Parsley chopped

Pumpkin seeds

Sliced red Thai chili

Sliced green onions

Method

Soak the pumpkin seeds for 20-30  minutes.

In the meantime, roast the fennel bulb and garlic at 400 for 25 minutes with a little salt, oil, and pepper.

Blanch the spinach, rinse in cold water and drain the water completely.

Add everything to the food processor and run to make a nearly smooth texture. Mix in or run the chili flakes according to preference.

Serve with veggies/chips. Store leftovers in airtight cntainer in fridge.

Welcome to Potluck Party #1 (January 2022)

• Creamy Lemon Garlic Mushroom Pasta from Making Miracles
• Grilled Veggie Tower with Tofu from Patyco Candy Bar
• Pollo Agrodolce from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pudina/Mint Pulao from Sneha’s Recipe
• Roasted Fennel and Pumpkin Seed Dip from Magical Ingredients
• Singapore Noodles from Palatable Pastime