Crudités with Carrot Dip and Romesco

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Bring in cucumber, apple sticks, radishes, and any other favorite veggies. You have two dip sauces — go ahead, this is your crudité party.

Yewande Komolafe

Updated on August 2, 2023

Tested by

Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Crudites with carrot dip and romesco — Photo: Sarah Crowder

Active Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Yield:

Makes about 4 1/2 cups dip

This double-sauce eats like a romesco sauce. I love the idea of peanuts, carrots, and dipping back and forth. Think about this as a carrot dip crudité plate.

This recipe is in honor of Food Lab Detroit founder Devita Davison. In Detroit, farmers are super connected to the city; the Eastern Market is one of the oldest farmers' market in the country. This dish is inspired by the farm–city connection, with benne seeds and peanuts bringing it back to Africa.

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Ingredients

Carrot Dip (makes 3 cups)

1 pound carrots with leafy tops
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
15 1/2 ounce can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup peanut or cashew butter
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Groundnut Romesco (makes 1 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons raw benne seeds (3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup raw peanuts (2 1/2 ounces)
1 roasted red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bunch carrot tops (about 2 cups loosely packed), chopped
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 large lemon)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Seasonal vegetables such as radishes, broccoli, celery, carrots, cauliflower

Directions

Make the carrot dip

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Scrub carrots and rinse off any dirt. Trim tops off and set aside to use in romesco. Place carrots in a large foil pouch, add garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and season with the salt. Place on a baking sheet and roast until carrots are tender and a knife inserted goes right through, about 40 minutes.
Transfer contents of the foil pouch to a food processor and pulse to chop. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, chickpeas, peanut butter, and lemon juice and puree mixture until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt as needed. Set aside.

Make the Groundnut Romesco

In a small skillet over low heat, toast coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 1 minute, shaking skillet often. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, gently toast benne seeds until fragrant and a light golden brown, about 1 minute, shaking skillet often. Remove from pan and set aside. Toast peanuts in the same pan until fragrant and a light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, shaking skillet often. Remove from heat and once cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
Using a mortar and pestle, crush toasted cumin and coriander seeds. Add roasted red peppers and garlic cloves and crush. Add carrot tops and peanut oil and lightly crush. Transfer rough-chopped paste to a bowl and stir in lemon juice, paprika, and salt. Add benne seeds and chopped peanuts and toss to combine.
Place carrot dip in a bowl, spoon romesco in center, and swirl. Serve with your crudités of choice.

Note

Excerpted from The Rise by Marcus Samuelsson with Osayi Endolyn. Recipes with Yewande Komolafe and Tamie Cook. Copyright (c) 2020 by Marcus Samuelsson. Photographs by Angie Mosier. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.