I always think that dips are a perfect choice for parties: they're relaxed and informal to eat; they're easy to scale up and make in large quantities; and they're served cold so you can just put them on the snack table and forget about them. Probably most importantly, they are very quick to make, which is a huge bonus for those of use who don't take huge pleasure in rolling tens and tens of individual filo pastry parcels!

Homous is a steadfast favourite of vegans and non-vegans alike so you will rarely get anyone complaining about the basic recipe, but this variation on the classic makes it a touch more special (not to mention beautiful to look at!) I always think that you can make quite a striking looking platter with dips as well, combined with a variety of colourful vegetable sticks, crackers, breads or crisps, depending on what you like to dunk in to them! I would thoroughly recommend using a blender for this too; even a high-end food processor won't be able to get the smooth, creamy consistency that you want for this dip. The one downside for this recipe is that it doesn't keep brilliantly, so you will want to make it the day before, or the day of, the event that you're serving it.

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Recipe
1 can (240g) cooked chickpeas
250g raw beetroot
75g tahini
50g extra virgin olive oil
50g water (from the chickpea can or fresh water)
Zest (1.25 tbsp) and juice (50ml) of 1 large lemon
2 large (13g) garlic cloves
1.5 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions
Scrub the beetroot (no need to peel) and chop in to slightly more manageable chunks for the blender.
Place in to the blender, along with all the other ingredients, and process until completely smooth. That's it!
Garnish with parsley, sesame seeds or anything else you feel like!