Eze

Ingredients

• 3Red chillideseeded, finely chopped; heat to taste
• 10½ ozCream cheesegives the dip its creamy body
• 1Red onionfinely diced
• 2Spring onioncut into fine rings
• 2Tomatodiced small, cherry tomatoes also work
• 2 clovesGarlicpressed or finely chopped
• 1 tbspLemon juicefreshly squeezed, lime works too
• 1Bell pepperred, deseeded, finely diced; tempers the heat
• Saltto taste
• Black pepperfreshly ground
• 1 bunchCoriandercoarsely chopped; parsley as substitute (optional)
• 3½ ozFeta cheesecrumbled, scattered over before serving (optional)
• 1 tspSugarbalances acidity and heat (optional)

Method

1. Slit the red chillies lengthways, scrape out the seeds and cut the pods into very fine strips or dice. How much chilli goes in is up to your taste.
2. Deseed the bell pepper and dice it finely as well — it tempers the heat and gives the salsa some body.
3. Dice the red onion and tomatoes small, cut the spring onions into fine rings, and press or finely chop the garlic. The finer everything is cut, the better the flavour spreads through the dip later on.
4. Combine all the chopped ingredients in a bowl with the lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper; if you like, coarsely chop the coriander and add it, along with a teaspoon of sugar, which rounds off the acidity and the heat.
5. Add the cream cheese and stir until the dip is evenly creamy and the colourful pieces are distributed throughout.
6. Season generously, then cover and let the salsa rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes — only then do the chilli, garlic and lemon really come together.
7. If you like, scatter over the crumbled feta and a little more fresh coriander before serving; then the bowl goes on the table alongside the other dishes.

Tips and variations

For a smoother consistency, blitz the vegetables with a stick blender to a coarse pulp and stir in the cream cheese afterwards. There's also a cooked version — sweat onion, garlic and chilli in butter, simmer with vinegar, tomato purée, mustard, sugar and salt for about 15 minutes, stir in the cream cheese and let it cool — as well as a warm cheese sauce made from onion and mild pickled peppers sweated in oil, brought to the boil with milk, with processed cheese melted into it, cream cheese stirred through and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and Tabasco. Instead of cream cheese alone, a cream cheese and yoghurt base with grated cheddar, chilli and spring onions works well; and in place of salt and pepper, try toasted, ground Sichuan pepper. Serve Eze in a small bowl next to the main dish so everyone can help themselves to as much as they want.