Wait until you try this gorgeous (and very moreish) dip; it’s always a hit.  

Words and recipe: Extract from Nadia: A Seasonal Journal  Photos: Rachael McKenna

A jar of roasted capsicums is handy for adding a lovely burst of summery flavour to dishes. Sometimes, I throw in a few large, whole red chillies with the capsicums when there’s 10 to 15 minutes to finish cooking and blend everything together for a delicious sauce with a kick.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup sunflower seeds
5 sweet roasted capsicums (recipe below)
100-150g creamy feta
leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

Lightly toast the sunflower seeds in a dry frying pan (no oil) until starting to turn golden. Allow to cool, then place in a food processor with remaining ingredients. Blitz until smooth. Taste and season with freshly cracked pepper, more lemon juice and salt if needed.

Sweet Roasted Capsicums

Place 8-10 whole red capsicums on an oven tray and roast in a very hot oven (220-2300C) for approximately 40 minutes or until skins are blistered and blackened. Turn over once during cooking. The skins must be blistered and blackened to peel off easily; the flesh’s flavour also intensifies and sweetens.

Remove from oven and leave until cool enough to handle. Peel off the skins, which will now be wrinkly and come off easily. Gently remove seeds/core and slice thickly. Place in a couple of sterilised jars and fill with oil (olive, canola or grapeseed).