Chips and dips are a crowd pleaser (as long as you beware the dreaded double dip.)
Some of the best chips I have tried are by Manomasa, who proudly make “tortillas with spirit”.
Available in Salt and Cracked Black Pepper, Chipotle and Lime, and White Cheddar they are crisp, crunchy and totally tasty. What sets them apart are ingredients like caraway seeds, linseeds and pumpkin seeds which give a distinctive texture and flavour.
Although they’re good enough to enjoy on their own, accompaniments like zingy pico de gallo salsa, classic guacamole and the showstopper seven layer dip make them sing.
Let the chips see the dip!
Pico de gallo salsa recipe
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes, drained (if you’re making the 7 layer dip, reserve the juices to cook with the beans)
- 4-5 fresh tomatoes, deseeded, chopped and drained of excess juices (NB: if you’ve got loads of tasty fresh tomatoes in season, by all means make swap six or so fresh tomatoes for a tin)
- Juice of 2-3 limes
- half a red or white onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- Small handful fresh coriander, stalks and leaves, finely chopped
- Fresh chilli, finely chopped (to taste – you can use a dash of your favourite hot sauce if you prefer)
- Sea salt and pepper
Chop everything up finely, mix together, chill before serving.
The trick is to keep tasting as you go. You’re aiming for a good balance of hot, sour, salty flavours with the tomato coming through so you’ll always have to adjust a little depending on how juicy your limes are, how hot your chillies are, how tasty your tomatoes are etc.
I always find that you need to add more salt than you think.
Couple of tips – you really do need to drain the tin of tomatoes and/or deseed fresh ones as it becomes a watery mess if you don’t. A teaspoon of sugar is good if your tomatoes are very acidic or if you accidentally put too much chilli in.
Guacamole recipe
- 2 ripe avocados
- 2-3 spring onions, finely chopped
- Small handful fresh coriander, stalks and leaves, finely chopped
- 1 medium fresh tomato, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- sea salt
- Fresh chilli, finely chopped (to taste – you can use a dash of your favourite hot sauce if you prefer)
Scoop out the flesh of the avocados and roughly mash with a fork (not too smooth – chunky bits are good!). Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Taste, adjust the seasoning as needed, and serve immediately.
The ultimate seven layer dip recipe
This tastes even better the day after you make it…
1st layer:
1 tin refried beans
half a red or white onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked chipotle paste
2nd layer:
handful of grated cheddar cheese
3rd layer:
3 tablespoons pickled jalapeños, coarsely chopped
4th layer:
Guacamole (recipe above)
5th layer:
Pico de Gallo salsa (recipe above)
6th layer:
small tub of sour cream
7th layer:
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
a small handful of fresh coriander, chopped
To make the first layer of refried beans: sauté the chopped onion in a little oil for 5 minutes, add the garlic and cumin powder and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the refried beans and chipotle paste, stir until heated through. You will probably need liquid to thin the beans so add a little water (or the drained tomato juice from the pico de gallo) until you have a thick but spreadable/dippable consistency. Taste to check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Remove from the heat.
Transfer the bean mixture to a serving dish (preferably clear so you can see the layers) and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle with the cheese and jalapeños. Using a clean rubber spatula, drop the guacamole in large dollops over the cheese and jalapeños and spread into an even layer. Spread the pico de gallo in an even layer over the guacamole. Using a clean rubber spatula, drop the sour cream in large dollops over the pico de gallo and spread into an even layer, being careful not to disturb the pico de gallo. Sprinkle with the spring onions and coriander.
Open a bag of Manomasa chips and enjoy!
