Greek Style 7-Layer Dip

House warming party success! Matt and I had such a blast last weekend breaking in our new apartment with all of our New York  friends and quite a few cocktails. Although the party didn’t get started until 9:30pm or so, I still wanted a solid supply of delicious apps and snacks around to satisfy the inevitable munchies. And because I’m fearless, I whipped up two main appetizers that I’d never attempted before, except in my imagination’s kitchen of course.

I know, I know. The #1 rule of home entertaining and cooking, do not cook something you’ve never made before. I’m not going to make of it a habit, but this was really casual entertaining and I had my mind set on these two dishes. To my delight, both appetizers were a total hit. I made an outrageously awesome Spinach, Artichoke & Roasted Red Pepper Dip, which I’ll have to share at a later day. Because today it’s all about the other dish, my simple and healthy Greek Style 7-Layer Dip.

7-Layer Dip is a classic appetizer. Although the only version I’ve ever tried is the Mexican variety. You know, refried beans, guac, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and veggies layered and served with tortilla chips. So delicious. My Greek Style Layer Dip swaps the Mexican flavors for classic Mediterranean ingredients. In my version, hummus and tzatziki are lovingly layered with salty feta and colorful veggies and served with crudités and freshly toasted pita chips. I like making my own hummus and tzatziki, I’ve made them so many times I could do it my sleep, but store bought varieties will work perfectly as well.

I loved this dip so much that I made it again this week. Firstly because I wanted to take some good pics to share with all of you, but also because I thought it would make a great weeknight dinner. I was right. This dip is perfect stuffed into a pita pocket or served on top of a simple Greek salad. And now we have half a dish of leftovers to munch on throughout the rest of the week and weekend.

On that note, it’s Thursday today! And Thursday means it’s almost the weekend. Hang in there, Friday night will be here soon enough!

Greek 7-Layer Dip
Serves: 8 (appetizer servings)  Start to Finish: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1-1/3 cups Hummus (store-bought or get my recipe here)*
1 cup Tzatziki Sauce (store-bought or get my recipe here)**
10-15 Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
10-15 Black Olives, sliced***
3-4 Peperoncini Peppers, seeds removed and chopped
1/3 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
1 large Scallion, sliced

To Make

In a shallow dish (I used a pie plate), layer all ingredients in listed order. You can use more or less of each veggie topping, depending on your personal preference.

Serve with crudités and/or pita chips. Or use as a stuffing for pita pockets.

*You’ll need about 1-1/3 to 1-1/2 of hummus. My homemade recipe makes 1-1/3 cups, so that’s what I used.
**I made my homemade recipe for tzatziki but left out the garlic. The hummus has garlic in it and I didn’t want to overwhelm my guests with over the top raw garlic flavor.
***The traditional olive in Greek food is kalamata, but I used classic black olives because I don’t love kalamata olives.