-DIPS,pATESANDZESTS

Dips and pates are always useful. not only when friends come round and at dinner-parties, but also for lunch or the odd snack: they are much healthier than biscuits or bread and jam and make a change from peanut butter. The virtues of peanut butter, however, have led me to include recipes forother sorts of nut butter, which are very easy to make and surprisingly delicious. I have also given a recipefortomato jam, which is by farthe most adaptable item in the book because you can use it to add interest to a variety of cooked dishes or, like pickle and chutney, in sandwiches.

Dips are much more interesting if, aswell as bread, you serve them with a selection of crudites: that is, raw vegetables. Almost any vegetable which does not have to be cooked (as, for instance, potatoes do) is suitable provided that it is crisp and fresh. Besides the more obvious, such as cucumber, carrots, celery and peppers, you can use celeriac, turnips, mange-tout or sugar-snap peas and small string beans. To prepare cucumber and carrots, wash or scrub and dry them, cut off the ends and chop into sticks: the quickest way to do this is to slice them into 1-1 1/2 inch/2.5-4 cm lengths and cross-chop. For celery, cut off the root ends and leaves, pare away any brown streaks, wash and dry; if the sticks are deeply curved, hold them under the cold tap to wash out dirt on the inside. Wash, dry and quarter peppers; remove the white inner membrane, the core and all the seeds (which are hot: hence the name), cut out any dark spots and slice. Peel celeriac (which has a slightly aniseed taste) and trim away any brown knots or fibres under the skin; chop into sticks and, since it may discolour on exposure to the air, sprinkle with a little lemon juice - which will also enhance its flavour. Peel and chop turnips. Wash cauliflower, pare off any trace of pink or brown mould and cut into narrow florets. Wash mange-tout or sugar-snap peas and trim the stalk ends. Wash beans and trim the ends.

Another alternative for serving with dips is rusks. These are simply bread baked in the oven until crisp all through. They are really a form of crouton but larger and cooked more slowly.

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Use stale bread if possible (easier to cut tidily than fresh). Pre-heat the oven to 400°F, 200°C, Gas Mark 6. Cut the bread into slices of moderate thickness, discard the crusts and chop into widefingers. Bakefor 20 minutes or until slightly browned.

- GUACAMOLE-

I tried out all the dips and pates in this chapter (except Clara's Lentil and Lime Pate) at a Christmas party and took the order in which they disappeared as a measure of their popularity. This won easily - but do not make it too often because avocados, although they contain a high proportion of oil, which is why they are so satisfying, are very low in protein.

It is important that you choose an avocado at the right stage of ripeness. The green ones are easy to judge: if they give slightly to the touch all over, they are ready to eat. Avoid any which are very soft or have squashy patches, as they will be overripe and streaked with black inside. Hard ones are underripe but if left at room temperature will soften in a few days. The almost-black variety is more of a problem because it has nubbly, relatively hard skin, but you can still tell if the flesh underneath is hard or soft.

Do not rub your eyes while handling the chilli and wash your hands immediately afterwards; if you have sensitive skin, wear polythene gloves while preparing it. For 3-4.

- INGREDIENTS-

V2 green chilli

6 spring onions

I small clove garlic

I large avocado