A quick and easy recipe, great with a drink as an appetizer spread on bread toasts or as a dip with raw vegetables strips.
I actually always offer vegetables, raw or prepared, cooked in different ways with a drink before dinner. Appetizers are often too rich in my opinion. Therefore I often have all kind of dips with vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, fennel, bell pepper, mushrooms, cauliflower…, and this one is one of my favorites. Any vegetable matches with this dip. It can also be spread on bread toasts or even used as a sauce served as a side to white fish, poultry, or any barbecue. And even with steamed potatoes or pasta.
This preparation tastes real Mediterranean flavors with bell pepper cooked in olive oil and aromatic herbs such as herbes de Provence.
Bell peppers are first pan fried in olive oil with onions, garlic and herbes de Provence. This can easily be done in advance, or even 1 to 2 days earlier. At least chilled a bit. Before serving or a few hours before your guests arrive, all you’ll have to do is mixing the preparation with cream cheese.
This recipe could be done with roasted peppers (as I explain on my recipe of marinated bell peppers) but this technique is quite long and what we like here is that the recipe is quick and easy, never the less very tasty.
The French uses a lot cream chease in all kind of preparation (for example in zucchini soup, a must for many French kid). You may replace by fresh goat cheese, Feta cheese, silky tofu or even Greek yogurt according to your taste (then adjust quantities).
See many other dips and nice treats for l’apéro, French beloved appetizer, here on the blog.
Red Bell Pepper Dip
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 3 red bell peppers or mix of colours
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 onion large
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 75 gr cream cheese Philadelphia or French Saint Môret, may replace by Greek yoghurt
- 1 teaspoon thyme or dried herbes de Provence
- salt
- Pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Ideally peel the peppers with a peeler. Remove the seeds and white membranes of bell peppers and roughly cube or dice peppers. Mince garlic and onions.
- In a pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and garlic, don’t forget a generous pinch of salt (it will help water get out of onions this way they won’t burand fry at medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add bell peppers and thyme or herbes de Provence. Fry (or sauté I don’t really know which verb is the most appropriatat least 20 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally so that it won’t stick to the pan.
- Chill before adding cream cheese (30 mn sould be enough).
- Mix in a blender or a food processor with cream cheese. Adjust the amount of cream cheese depending on the consistency obtained. Purée until smooth. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Notes
Bon appétit !
