While I was putting away my weekly vege purchases yesterday, I discovered 7 carrots in the bottom of the vege bin that had seen better days. They were still good enough to be used to make something and so this dip was born.  You get a delicious sweetness from the carrots, honey and orange and a nice bit of heat at the end from the chipotle and chilli.  You can make this vegan by leaving out the honey or substituting it for maple syrup.

Ingredients:

7 med sized carrots
juice and zest of one orange
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup cashew pieces soaked in boiling water for 5 mins
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ground chipotle powder (or chilli powder)
1 tsp ground corriander
salt and pepper to taste

Cut up the carrots into slices (I left the skin on) and cook in boiling water until soft.  Leave to cool then place into the bowl of a food processor with the cashews, chilli sauce and peanut butter and blitz to a coarse paste.

Add the orange juice to loosen the mix and blitz until combined then add the orange zest, honey and all of your spices and blitz until you have a nice smooth paste.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Place in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and garnish with pumpkin seeds.  Enjoy with corn chips, or as we did, on top of nachos.