7 Layer Greek Dip

7-layer dip is a big thing and lots of people LOVE it, myself included.  However, sometimes you just want something al little different, and this is the perfect option.

This is inspired by my love of Greek food, plus, it is loaded with protein, so it is really a whole meal within itself.  Once, when we were in Greece, we stopped in at a little restaurant for lunch. Everything looked so good that we couldn’t help ourselves and started ordering like people coming off a three month juice cleanse. When we got to about the fifth dish, the waiter told us to stop.  It was too much food and he wouldn’t put an order in for any more until we finished all of that. Slightly offended that he thought we couldn’t eat our body weight in food, especially since most of the dishes were appetizers, we finally agreed, but secretly plotted our next round of yumminess that we would be ordering. Long story short, he was right. We were barely able to push away from the table and waddle  out onto the street.  Food comas are a real thing.

There are several variations for this recipe, so you can play with it a bit.

First of all, you can make this dish oil free by swapping out the oil for the liquid from the chickpeas. This liquid is called aquafaba and it is amazing. I add it to my chocolate fudge recipe and it becomes mousse. You can whip it so that it becomes stiff like egg whites and use it as a merangue. You can swap it out in recipes as a partial egg substitute. There are so many reasons not to put this liquid gold down the drain. And no, it does not taste like chickpeas. It is literally flavorless once you put it into other recipes. The slightest of flavors will overpower it. There is also no need to rinse the beans because the purpose of this recipe is to puree the chickpeas and beans, so having some of the liquid from the can clinging to them only helps.

You can buy red peppers packed in water or make your own by roasting them in the oven, over a gas stove or on a grill.  The jarred version is more expensive, but a whole lot easier. You do you.

When using dried herbs, the rule is thirds. Dried herbs are a lot stronger than fresh, so you only need a third of them. So, one Tablespoon of fresh herbs equals one teaspoon of dried herbs. I am kind of playing fast and loose with this recipe by approximating how many leaves of fresh herbs replace the dried, but do you really want to go to the trouble of chopping the fresh herbs to measure only to put them into a processor? I don’t. I have shows to bing. They just dropped a new season of Shrinking and Bridgerton.

When it comes to things like flavoring, one person’s ideal amount of flavor is another person’s nightmare. I am giving a starting point here of what I think is a pleasant amount of spice, but the beauty of this recipe is that there is no raw meat or eggs anywhere near it, so you can taste along the way and adjust to your hearts content. Have at it. The only warning I would give would be with regard to the garlic. Fresh garlic is so much more potent than roasted, so start small and build no matter how much you like garlic. The roasted garlic is always my first choice, but if you don’t have any (I won’t garlic shame you for not having it in your fridge), then use what you have. Honestly, I’m okay with you using the jarred garlic. I won’t judge.

You can use red onions if you don’t have green, but they will be slightly stronger, so use with caution. I’ve also included the option of black olives which I don’t care for, so you won’t find them on my dish, but I know other people who love them. They go really well with this recipe, but I didn’t put an amount because at the end of the day, it depends on how much you like black olives.

I use a plant-based feta, but obviously, any feta will do if you can do dairy.

Finally, why do I seed the tomatoes (that just means pushing out the seeds after you cut the tomato)? Because that is where all the “water” is and you don’t want to have your topping be watery. There is plenty of flavor in the rest of the tomato and you can always freeze it to add to a pasta sauce next time you are making it.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained but not rinsed (save the liquid from the can)
• 1 whole roasted red pepper (jarred is fine, but try to buy the one packed in water and not oil if possible)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (you might need less if you are using pepper packed in oil) To make this recipe oil free, use the liquid from the can of chickpeas instead of oil)
• 6-7 cloves roasted garlic or 1-2  garlic cloves if using fresh
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (about 8 large leaves if using fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint (about 6 mint leaves if using fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained but not rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• zest of one large lemon
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped, seeded tomatoes
• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
• chopped black olives (optional)
• feta cheese

Directions:

1. In a food processor or blender, blend the chickpeas, red pepper , garlic, basil, mint and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add up to 2 Tablespoons of the oil or chickpea water as needed. You may not need any at all depending on how well the chickpeas were drained. Spread the mixture in the bottom of serving dish. You can taste this mixture and if you’d like to adjust the spices now would be the time to add more garlic, basil or mint.
2. Rinse out the processor and blend the cannellini beans, 3/4 teaspoon salt, oregano, lemon zest and juice till smooth and creamy.  Spread this mixture on top of the first.
3. Combine the tomato and green onions and sprinkle on top. Add olives if using, then sprinkle some feta on top.
4. Serve with toasted pita.

Enjoy!