This avocado dip with asparagus, spiced chickpeas and pangrattato makes a scrummy snack or finger food that’s delicious and healthy. Creamy avocado dip is spread onto a serving plate, spiced crispy chickpeas and tender pan-fried asparagus are piled on top, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with crunchy pangrattato and fresh coriander. Scoop it up with crackers or pile it onto toasted Turkish bread.
For many of our readers, scattered around the globe, the end of October marks the start of a season of entertaining that includes traditional festivals such as Diwali, Thanksgiving dinners, casual gatherings like backyard barbecues and beachside picnics, end-of-year cocktail parties, celebratory meals, Christmas breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners, and drinks, and New Year’s Eve parties.
So we thought we’d kick off the entertaining season with a series of fresh new recipes for dishes for easy entertaining that we’ll run over the next two months. Whether you’re hosting a fancy party or relaxed get-together, we’ll have recipes for nibbles and bite-sized finger food, from hors d’oeuvres to canapés, as well as more substantial dishes that are made for sharing.
Next in this series: smoked mussels on hummus with pickled shallots, smoky paprika and chives and this fancy sardines on toast recipe. In the meantime, if you need food ideas for an upcoming gathering, whether it’s a relaxed affair or elegant soiree, we have lots of recipes in our archives, from recipes for dips for crackers and crudités, Spanish tapas, Basque pintxos and Mediterranean mezze, to picnic food and pot luck ideas if you’re asked to bring a plate and dishes for feeding a crowd.
If you’re looking for cooking inspiration, do browse our archives, where we have many hundreds of recipes from around the world. You can save recipes by clicking on the heart on the right of any post to create a private account. Now let me tell you all about my avocado dip with asparagus, spiced chickpeas and pangrattato.
Avocado Dip with Asparagus, Spiced Chickpeas and Pangrattato
Asparagus and avocados are in abundance and affordable here right now. While I adore this pan-fried asparagus on pesto hummus with dukkah and sautéed asparagus on goat’s cheese with spinach pesto oil, and I’ll happily dig into a bowl of traditional guacamole with tortilla chips, I wanted to develop a snack that combined asparagus and avocados.
This creamy avocado dip with crispy asparagus, spiced chickpeas and crunchy pangrattato is a cousin of those dishes and while it’s addictively delicious, it’s also extremely versatile. I season the spiced chickpeas with cumin, paprika and coriander, but use any combo of spices you like, from Mexican or Moroccan.
I make the avocado dip with creamy Greek yoghurt but sour cream or creme fraiche work for a richer dip. Or if you’re tight on time use a store-bought avocado dip. Asparagus is the star here, but you could substitute the pangrattato (Italian fried breadcrumbs) with dukkah, and shower with your favourite fresh herbs.
If you’re a lover of asparagus and avocados, we have more avocado recipes here and I’m going to pull together a collection of our best asparagus recipes soon. Just a few tips to making this avocado dip with asparagus, spiced chickpeas and pangrattato.
Tips to Making this Avocado Dip with Asparagus, Spiced Chickpeas and Pangrattato
I only have a few tips to making our creamy avocado dip with asparagus, spiced chickpeas and pangrattato, starting with the crispy chickpeas, which need to be prepared first.
Baking the Chickpeas
After draining the canned chickpeas, you need to rinse them in a fine mesh strainer under running water. Make sure the chickpeas are completely dry and their skins are removed for crispiness. I suggest spread the chickpeas onto paper kitchen towels and use those to rub the chickpeas to both dry them and simultaneously remove their skins.
My chickpeas get nice and golden and crunchy after around 30 minutes of baking, but your chickpeas might take a little less time or even more, so I recommend setting a timer for 15 minutes so you can both shake the oven tray to evenly cook and colour the chickpeas, as well as test one. But work quickly so you don’t let too much heat escape.
When they’re done, tip the chickpeas from the hot tray onto a tray to cool. Make sure they chickpeas are completely cool before transferring them to a bowl to season them. I stir the spices together first in the bowl, and shake the bowl to coat them with the spices.
Pangrattato
Like dukkah, I always have pangrattato on hand, as I sprinkle the stuff on everything from eggs to salads to add crunch and texture. I use this plain pangrattato this dish. But you could try this pangrattato with lemon zest, parsley and parmesan. If you don’t have pangrattato on hand, here’s what it is and how to make it.
In Italian, ‘pangrattato’ means grated bread, or breadcrumbs – ‘pan’ is bread, and ‘grattato’ is grated – but typically refers to the crunchy toasted breadcrumbs. To make pangrattato, you simply stir-fry the breadcrumbs continuously in extra virgin olive oil (preferably) or a decent quality olive oil in a pan over medium heat until golden-brown and crunchy.
Italian cooks use plain breadcrumbs, but we also use Japanese panko breadcrumbs sometimes for extra crunch and texture. I use this round flat bottomed wok for almost everything and it’s perfect for making pangrattato, but by all means use your favourite frying pan.
It’s essential to continuously stir-fry the breadcrumbs. I use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Don’t stop frying, as they’ll start to burn. As soon as the breadcrumbs turn golden-brown, pour them into a bowl to cool. When completely cool, pangrattato can be transferred to mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars.
Making the Avocado Dip
Make the avocado dip right after you slide the chickpeas into the oven, so you have time to refrigerate it and it can firm up. After slicing the avocado in half, deseeding it, and scooping the avocado flesh into a bowl, you’ll need to mash the avocado until all the lumps are gone.
In my experience, this is best done in a mortar and pestle, but, sure, you could use a fork for a more rustic avocado dip. After mashing the avocado, add the Greek yoghurt, onion powder and salt to the mortar, and continue mashing to combine until smooth. Taste, and adjust the seasoning to suit your palate.
Cook the Asparagus
Cooking the asparagus is the easy bit. I love to pan-fry the asparagus spears in a large frying pan over medium-high with quality extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the spears and fry them for a few minutes until just-cooked, still firm and bright green, then remove them from the heat. You want the asparagus firm so you can use the spears to scoop up the avocado dip.
Assembling the Lot
Use a big spoon to scoop the avocado dip onto a serving plate and the back of that spoon to spread it around the plate, creating some ridges. Use tongs to transfer the asparagus spears to the plate, and spoon on some of those spiced chickpeas.
Drizzle on the remaining extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with the pangrattato (or dukkah if you prefer), and shower with fresh coriander leaves (or your favourite herbs) and you’re set. Serve with crackers for scooping and forks and/or spoons or pile it onto toasted Turkish bread. Enjoy!
Avocado Dip with Asparagus, Spiced Chickpeas and Pangrattato
Ingredients
Spiced Chickpeas
- 420 g can chickpeas
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground paprika
- ½ tsp ground coriander
Avocado Dip
- 1 avocado
- ½ cup Greek yoghurt - or sour cream or creme fraiche
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Asparagus
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - divided
- 10 asparagus spears - trimmed
- 2 tbsp pangrattato - Italian pan-fried breadcrumbs, see our Tips to making it if you don't have any on hand
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves
Instructions
- Bake the chickpeas: heat your oven to 180°C (356°F. Drain the chickpeas, rinse them in a fine mesh strainer under water, spread the chickpeas onto paper kitchen towels and use them to dry the chickpeas, simultaneously removing their skins. Ensure the chickpeas are completely dry and all skins removed for crispiness.
- Lay baking paper on an oven tray, transfer the chickpeas to the tray, making sure they’re not touching, and slide the tray into the oven to bake for 30 minutes or so until the chickpeas are golden and crispy. Set a timer for 15 minutes to shake the tray to evenly cook and colour the chickpeas. When the chickpeas are done, tip them onto another tray to cool.
- To a large bowl, add the ground cumin, coriander and paprika, stir the spices together to combine and set aside. When the chickpeas are cool, you’ll transfer them to the bowl, and shake the bowl to coat them with the spices.
- Make the avocado dip: after sliding the chickpeas into the oven, use a mortar and pestle to mash the avocado until all the lumps are gone; add the Greek yoghurt, onion powder and salt, and continue mashing to combine until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
- Cook the asparagus: to a large frying pan over medium-high heat add a tablespoon of quality extra virgin olive oil; when the oil is shimmering, add the asparagus spears and fry them for a few minutes until just-cooked, still firm and bright green, then remove from the heat.
- Scoop the avocado dip onto a serving plate, use the back of the spoon to spread it around the plate, creating some ridges. Use tongs to transfer the asparagus spears to the plate, spoon on some of the spiced chickpeas, drizzle with the remaining extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with pangrattato, and shower with fresh coriander leaves.
- Serve with crackers for scooping and forks and/or spoons to pile onto toasted Turkish bread.
Nutrition
Please do let us know in the comments below if you make this creamy avocado dip with asparagus, spiced chickpeas and pangrattato as we’d love to hear how it turned out for you.
