From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

I bought a small tub of this type of dip at the grocery store. It was good, but pricey, so a friend had seen a recipe online, told me about it and then I did my own thing. The dip lasts in the refrigerator for about a week.

This dip is great in a vegetable tray, spread in a wrap, with cheese and crackers, spread on grilled fish or chicken to finish. I topped thin slices of seared tuna in sesame seed/black pepper crust (Outback copy cat) with a squiggle of peppadew dip, on top of cucumber slices or small lettuce leaf. I loved it as a dip with shrimp instead of cocktail sauce.

Using my cornmeal waffle recipe, you can also make tiny waffles by just putting small spoonfuls of batter onto waffle iron so they can take the place of crostini or croûtes. Crisp in oven when guests arrive and serve with peppadew dip, shrimp and peppadew, etc.

Ingredients:

• 14 oz. jar of Peppadew peppers (I found these for under $4 in my regular market in produce section – labeled as whole sweet piquante peppers, hot. Contains sweet-spicy vinegar. Product of S. Africa, labeled gluten-free.)
• 8 oz. (250 g) brick of cream cheese (I use light)
• 1 freshly roasted red pepper, deseeded and skinned (I don’t know what it would be like with jarred peppers.)
• 24 peppadews from jar – no need to rinse, etc. (I started with 12 and kept increasing until I got the flavor I wanted. It also depends on size of peppadews in jar and your taste. I think I counted 32 peppadews in the jar. Flavor does develop as it sits.)
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) melted hot pepper jelly (Gives it sweetness and heat without raw flavor of jalapeños. I use Trappist hot pepper jelly or mango pepper jelly.)
• ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh parsley
• ¼ cup (60 ml) green of green onion.
• 4 tsp. (20 ml) of liquid from jar
• Fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. Put it all together in a food processor and grind as smooth as you like. I actually did it with immersion blender in a Pyrex jug.

Note from Oonagh:I made it for Thanksgiving and only had 20 peppadews left unless I opened a new jar. It was the same flavor and heat level as 24 peppadews, so obviously size and spiciness varies. It was devoured at Thanksgiving just with crackers.