Dips are never just accompaniments at our restaurant, the Barbary in central London, but a way of building flavour from the outset. They set the tone for the meal, so it’s important not only to have a variety of spice and seasoning, but also contrast in colour and texture, not least to get the palate excited straight away. These early-summer dips, inspired by the former Barbary Coast (Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia), are all best served with grilled flatbread, seeded crackers and fresh vegetables. The kaha kaha and machluta dips are both somewhere between a dip and a salad, and go especially well with grilled chicken, while the fava is good with grilled fish.Courgette machluta (pictured top)A fresh, seasonal take on machluta, a traditional pulse soup, in which charred courgette and onion is folded into a cooling yoghurt flavoured with confit garlic and warm spices. It is best made ahead, so the flavours have time to settle and deepen. To make your own confit garlic, simply put a few cloves of peeled garlic in a small ovenproof dish, add enough vegetable oil barely to cover, then cover with tinfoil and bake at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for 30-40 minutes, until soft (alternatively, cook it on the hob on a very low heat for roughly the same time).Prep 15 minCook 20 minChill 2 hr+Serves 6500g courgettes, cut lengthways into quarters, spongey seeds removed75g red onion, peeled and cut into 2cm-thick slicesExtra-virgin olive oil