We were having a gathering of friends new and old, and the old friends had requested a dinner of Vietnamese marinated ribs with Thai tortellini salad on the side; so I had a kindofa Asian theme running for dinner.
Ruth was bringing dessert, now, what to do about munchies? Beth and Merv were bringing an appetizer (TERRIFIC lumpia), but I thought I’d also do a small relish tray, with kalamata olives, spicy pickled green beans, and this Asian inspired tuna dip made with gingered refrigerator pickles.
It was a pretty big hit, so I’ve rearranged post schedules to share the recipe early.
Note: Yeh, you really do have to make the pickles to make this dip, but the good thing is that the recipe is so darned simple! Just a bit of chopping, a bit of stirring together and boiling, then a bit of cooling before stashing in the fridge. Easy-peasy!
INGREDIENTS
•1 can tuna, drained
•1/4 cup mayonnaise
•1 garlic clove
•3 tbsp gingered refrigerator pickle
•1/2 lime, juiced
•Zest of 1/2 lime
•1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
•3 tsp Sriracha (or, to taste)*
•1/2 tsp curry powder
•1 tbsp dried parsley
•1/2 tsp celery seed
•1/4 tsp sea salt
•1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 scallion, sliced
*Start with one tablespoon or so of Sriracha to start, then give the dip a taste after processing. I ended up adding another two tablespoons after letting it rest and allowing the flavors to blend. The dip was not too, too spicy, just a nice hint of heat to balance the lime and other flavors.
Combine all of the ingredients, except for the scallion, together in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, then pulse until the dip is smooth.
Stir the scallion in, transfer to a covered bowl, and stash in the fridge until ready to serve.
Great dip with pita chips, and not too, too bad rolled up into a tortilla with shredded lettuce for a sammich.
Go ahead, make some gingered pickles, then make this dip.
Everyone will thank you for it.