Green Dip with the Thermomix® only works if the peanuts are processed separately from everything else. Chop them first, take them out, then blend the rest, and fold them in at the end. Otherwise, what should be a chunky texture turns into a smooth, uniform paste with no bite.
We have been bringing this dip to every barbecue for years. The green colour comes from parsley and avocado, the heat from jalapeño, and the texture from roasted peanuts. The idea is simple: roughly chopped peanuts stay as a structural element in the creamy dip. If you blend everything together, you get a smooth cream. Fine, but boring.
Green Dip with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 9 ✓
- 60 g peanuts roasted, salted
- 1 piece lime
- 2 piece garlic cloves
- 1 piece avocado
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 piece jalapeño
- 100 g water
- 90 g olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Chop the peanuts.
Place the peanuts in the mixing bowl and chop for 4 sec / speed 6, then set aside.
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2
Prepare the vegetables.
Juice the lime and peel the garlic. Halve the avocado, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh. Wash and shake dry the parsley. Halve the jalapeño and remove the stalk and seeds.
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3
Blend.
Add all ingredients, except the chopped peanuts, to the mixing bowl and blend for 20 sec / speed 6-8-10, increasing speed gradually. Scrape down the sides with the spatula.
Add the peanuts to the mixing bowl and stir for 5 sec / speed 3.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the peanuts go in first
The peanuts are chopped for 4 seconds at speed 6 and immediately removed from the mixing bowl. This gives you coarse pieces that crunch between your teeth later. If you leave them in the bowl and blend them together with the avocado, oil and water, two problems arise: the peanuts get ground too fine, almost powdery. And the oil from the peanuts combines with the olive oil, making the dip greasier than it needs to be.
After chopping, transfer the peanuts to a small bowl. The mixing bowl stays clean for the rest. At the end, you stir the chopped peanuts in for 5 seconds at speed 3. Just long enough to distribute them without breaking them down further.
Jalapeño: hot or mild
Jalapeño without seeds gives a mild heat. With seeds, the dip becomes properly spicy. The seeds carry the highest concentration of capsaicin. We usually remove them because not everyone at a party handles spicy food well. If you use the chilli with seeds, still remove the stalk. It is woody and adds bitterness.
Fresh jalapeños are hotter than pickled ones from a jar. Pickled ones work too, but they need to be well drained. The pickling liquid will otherwise water down the dip. One important note: wear gloves when cutting. After handling jalapeños, your hands stay hot for hours. Washing them does not help. The capsaicin clings to the skin. If you then rub your nose or touch your eye, it burns.
Avocado as the creamy base
The avocado makes the dip creamy, not the oil. 90 g of olive oil sounds like a lot, but without the avocado the dip would be too thin. The avocado binds the water and oil into a stable emulsion. Make sure your avocado is ripe. Unripe avocados are firm and will not give you a creamy texture. If you press gently on the skin and it gives slightly, the avocado is ready.
Halve the avocado lengthways, twist the two halves apart and remove the stone. Scoop the flesh out with a tablespoon. There is no need to cut it up beforehand. The Thermomix® blends the avocado in 20 seconds at speed 6 up to 10, increasing gradually. The reason for increasing speed is that the avocado is first broken down roughly, then blended smooth. If you start straight at speed 10, the contents will splatter against the sides.
Lime instead of lemon
Lime gives more flavour than lemon. The juice is sharper, but also fruitier. Lemon works too, but the dip then tastes like any other green sauce. The lime makes the difference. Squeeze the lime and add the juice directly to the mixing bowl. Make sure no seeds get in. They are bitter.
The acidity of the lime has a second function: it prevents the avocado from turning brown. Without acid, the avocado oxidises in the air and discolours within 30 minutes. With lime juice, the dip stays green for several hours. If you are storing the dip for longer, press cling film directly onto the surface. This prevents contact with the air.
Speed 6 up to 10, increasing gradually
The mixing bowl blends all ingredients except the peanuts in 20 seconds. The key is the increasing speed: speed 6 up to 10. At speed 6, the large pieces are broken down. At speed 10, the creamy consistency develops. If you only blend at speed 10, large chunks of avocado or parsley stick to the sides. The Thermomix® cannot reach them.
After blending, use the spatula to push any residue on the sides back down. This is especially important for the parsley. The leaves are light and fly upward during blending. If you do not scrape down with the spatula, green flecks remain stuck to the side and never make it into the dip.
Olive oil as a flavour carrier
We use extra virgin olive oil. It tastes fruitier than refined olive oil. Sunflower oil works too, but then the Mediterranean character is missing. The 90 g of oil divides across 10 servings. That is 9 g per serving. Not a great deal, but the oil carries the flavour of the garlic and parsley.
You need the water to keep the dip from becoming too thick. 100 g of water to 90 g of oil. Without water, you would end up with a paste. With water, it becomes spreadable. If the dip is too thick, add more water a spoonful at a time. If it is too thin, add more avocado.
Serving and using up leftovers
The dip goes well with grilled meat, vegetable sticks, crisps and as a spread on bread. We serve it in a shallow bowl so everyone can reach in easily. Any leftovers keep in the fridge for two days. After that, the avocado turns brown even with lime juice. Freezing does not work. The avocado becomes mushy when thawed.
How other recipes approach this
Goes well with: Flatbread.
Most Thermomix® recipes for green dips are built on quark, soured cream or cream cheese with parsley, chives and dill. Classics such as herb quark or Frankfurt Green Sauce use seven herbs and a yoghurt base. Other versions use spinach for colour or feta for saltiness. Our approach is different: avocado provides all the creaminess without any dairy, lime replaces the vinegar, and roasted peanuts add bite instead of smoothness. Add jalapeño for heat. That makes this dip vegan, lactose-free and gives it a Mexican twist. Served with tortilla chips or vegetable sticks, it becomes an alternative to any classic herb dip.
