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taste of health Easy peasy veggie chips & fava dip PEACE & PARSNIPS Fava Bean & Avocado Dip with Lemon & Thyme Superbly green and full of rich, smooth, fresh fl avors, this dip is ideal in sunshiny weather. The fava bean harvest is one of my fa- vorite times of year. I love podding them—it's very therapeutic, although many of the beans end up in my mouth. Many people prefer fava beans cooked a little, so we are going to blanch them here. If the beans are not freshly picked or it's getting late in the season, I'd recommend you peel the sometimes leathery coats off them. Otherwise, just blend them up to a vibrant bowl of vivid green and enjoy. • 10 oz fava beans, shelled and blanched • 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced • a big handful of fresh mint, chopped • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only • juice of 1 lemon • zest of ½ lemon • ½ tsp sea salt • a large pinch of freshly cracked black pepper • 2 tbsp olive oil (or to taste) Cook the shelled fava beans in salted boiling water for 5 min- utes. Drain well and cool. Put all the ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor, and trickle in the oil while blitzing. Use enough oil to give a shimmering appearance—2 tablespoons should do nicely, but add a bit more if necessary. Vegetable Chips Makes one large bowlful (enough for 8–10 nibblers) Homemade chips are so simple you'll stop buying the over- priced store-bought varieties. The great thing about these crispy beauts is that you can moderate the amount of salt— and eat them warm. A warm chip is a thing of deep and meaningful wonder. You can use most vegetables here, but the starchier the better. I like adding an apple to the mix. Using a mandoline is dangerous, so take it easy and always use the protective guard that's provided. You can use the fi ne blade on your food processor, although this has varying results. Most will be fi ne, but you'll probably be left with some chunks. Just cut these as thin as you can. • 1 each: beet, parsnip, potato, carrot, small sweet potato, apple • cooking oil, for deep-frying • sea salt to taste Preheat the oven to 300°F. Scrub all the produce, peeling any that are marked or bruised, and slice them very thinly. Fill a large, fl at pan one-third full with oil and heat to 350°F, or until a slice dropped in sizzles immedi- ately—this takes about 4 minutes. Dry off your veggies in batches, pressing them quite fi rmly be- tween kitchen towels or paper towels to remove as much mois- ture as possible, then fry them. They all take different times to cook, so keep them separate—don't mix potato with apple, for example. Give them a little stir, making sure they don't stick to- gether. Fry the beet and carrot fi rst, as they can become soft after frying and need longer in the oven to crisp up. When the chips are golden, they are ready. Drain each batch on paper towels to remove excess oil, then place on a baking tray and put them in the oven. Bake for 10–15 minutes, until they are all crispy. Serve warm, sprinkled with sea salt. Recipe from Peace & Parsnips: Adventurous Vegan Cooking For Everyone © Lee Watson, 2016. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold. www.theexperimentpublishing.com Photos: Alistair Richardson By Lee Watson RECIPES 18 wholelifetimes.com