SPICY RED PEPPER HUMMUS

The super-sweet red pepper brings something special to hummus, with a throaty kick at the very end. Serve it with raw carrot and toasted pitta, cut into strips. Or you could serve a big dollop with a plate of roasted vegetables - squash, aubergine, tomato - as a simple dinner.

1 can chickpeas, drained (equivalent to 200g cooked chickpeas)
2 heaped dessertspoons Tahini (sesame seed paste, from supermarket)

Juice of 1 small lemon

3 cloves garlic, peeled

3 "Peppadew" peppers (from a jar)

2tbsp olive oil

1tsp salt

1tsp pepper

Using a food processor, blend the lemon juice, tahini and garlic with a few of the chickpeas, ensuring the garlic is finely pureed before continuing. Add the olive oil and most of the chickpeas, and blend to a smooth puree. Now add the seasoning, and the rest of the chickpeas, and the peppers, and pulse-chop until you get a textured hummus. Taste to see if it needs more lemon juice or seasoning. If it's too thick, add extra olive oil or a bit of warm water, and pulse to combine.

ROASTED PUMPKIN HUMMOUS

Roasting is my favourite way to treat a pumpkin; the edges turn gold and crusty and the interior loses its watery lacklustre. You get intense flavours and an interesting texture - I can eat this stuff cold, on toast, with goats' cheese, or... ooh, any which way.

Okay, so this is one to try if you're a hummous addict like me. I make this chickpea dip in some guise every week, sometimes adding chopped roast pepper, lime or coriander, but always stuffing it into pittas with mixed leaves and chutney or pesto for my favourite lunch in the world. This is a bit of a weird way to perk up hummous but it worked beautifully, and makes a cracking sandwich with some rocket and pumpkin seeds on top.

8 pieces roast pumpkin (1" cubes)

75g dried chickpeas, cooked (soak overnight, then boil for 1.5-2hours)

2 cloves garlic

1tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)

Juice of half a lemon

2tsp salt

About 150ml warm water

The pumpkin wants to be cubed and roasted in olive oil for about 40 minutes (put it in the oven while you're cooking something else). Put the pumpkin, garlic, lemon juice and a little water into a blender or processor and whiz until smooth. Now add the salt, tahini, and about half the chickpeas; now whiz until grainy, adding water to help the process. Finally add the remaining chickpeas and give the briefest of whizzes, to maintain some nice chunks. Add water to get the right consistency (if the peas or pumpkin were warm, then the hummous will firm up a bit more as it cools).

Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds and cayenne pepper to serve.

Hitipitiiiiiii
Greek red pepper and feta dip

This isn't a recipe of mine - it's from the brilliant 'Vegetables' by Sophie Grigson - but we ate it for lunch yesterday - with fresh focaccia and pumpkin hummous (recipe and piccy to follow) - and it was just sublime. We were actually fighting for the last scoop of the dish.

In fact, this is the first time I have cooked with feta cheese, and I plan to find a lot of new ways with it! If you get a red pepper in your veg box, if you like cheese (even a little bit), if you have a penchant for salt, if you love bread - do try this dip. If no bread in the house, cut up carrots or cucumber - whatever you need to do...

1 large red pepper
100g feta cheese, crumbled
2tbsp olive oil
0.5tsp paprika
Juice of 0.3 lemon

First, you need to roast the pepper - take off the top and the seeds, and roast in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until starting to blacken. Sophie says to remove the skins, but I didn't as I like the added smokiness. Tip into a blender and add the cheese, oil, lemon juice and paprika. Whiz to a grainy puree and spoon into a serving dish, scatter with extra paprika, and serve. Heaven in a bowl!

TWO WAYS WITH BEETROOT

We had a bag of beetroots in the box on Friday and it has taken me too long to do something with them. I toyed with a Borscht soup (vibrant with vodka), a roast beetroot salad (too summery), or Beetroot Stroganoff (which I am convinced would work, but worried about the colour).

In the end I just threw them all in the oven at about 200 degrees, skin and all, to roast - maintaining all the colour and vitamins - then split the batch in half. With half of them (4 medium-small beetroots) I made a version of Sophie Grigson's Beetroot Dip, which follows below. It's only been a couple of years since I discovered that beetroot are marvellous, whichever way you eat them.

BEETROOT, PHILLY AND RED LETTUCE ON WALNUT BREAD
The other half I sliced and quickly sauteed in olive oil with a splash of good Balsamic, to eat in an open sandwich of walnut bread, full-fat cream cheese and crunchy, red lettuce (pre-dinner snack). So simple, but surprisingly wonderful.

RAVISHING MIDDLE-EASTERN DIP
4 medium-small beetroot, roasted for an hour, peeled and chopped
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
1.5tbsp creme fraiche
Juice of 0.25 lemon
0.5tsp salt
Several twists of pepper

Dry-fry the cumin and coriander seeds until aromatic (be brave - leave in the pan until slightly dark). Crush with a pestle and mortar. Throw the chunks of warm beetroot into a blender or processor with the creme fraiche, spices, lemon juice and seasoning - the result is startlingly puce. Tip into a serving bowl and garnish with chives. Serve at room temperature with breadsticks and crudites... This would also be nice served alongside hummous, falafel, baba ghanoush, and flatbreads.

SUPER-SCRUMPTIOUS HUMMOUS

This is my own recipe for hummous, which I am rather proud of. Still, I think hummous is a rather personal thing: different folk like different garlic-lemon ratios. Steve complains if it's over-lemony but likes lots of garlic; I don't like it when the garlic starts to burn your tongue.

We both agree on lots of tahini though (sesame seed paste, available from the supermarket). So start with chickpeas, stock and tahini and adjust the rest to your own peculiar liking.

Makes a big potful.

200g dried chickpeas (cooked for recommended time)- or approx one tin
1tbsp tahini
Juice of half a large lemon, or most of a small lemon
2 medium cloves garlic
3-4tbsp olive oil
Salt

First whiz the chickpeas, 1 clove garlic, lemon juice, oil and tahini with enough cooking water to obtain the right hummousy texture. Add the salt, and start tasting. Adjust garlic and lemon to taste.

This keeps in the fridge for ages.

Serve in a thick sandwich with:
Grated carrot and lettuce leaves
Coriander, grilled aubergine slices and mango chutney
Spring onions and pine nuts
Honey-roasted aubergine and toasted sesame seeds

Also good with jacket potatoes, as a dip for potato wedges or carrots, or thinned with lemon juice and drizzled on falafel.