Mediterranean Inspired Layer Dip

What an awesome combination! If you love hummus and Feta cheese separately, you're going to ADORE this layer dip because it joins both in the same dish. Just wait until you hear about all the details. Feel free to let your mouth water. It's a fun Mediterranean-inspired hummus dip that is similar to a 7-layer dip (without so many layers).

Watch me make this Mediterranean Inspired Layer Dip here

Ingredients

• Hummus-use store-bought or make your own if you know how to
• Feta cheese-a briny Greek cheese that is great for salads and can be crumbled
• Greek Yogurt- a thicker consistency yogurt with a tart flavor
• Cucumber-tomato salad-diced super small and adorned with a touch of lemon juice and fresh herbs
• Fresh Herbs-basil, oregano, and parsley blend into the salad and give it a fresh burst of herbaceous flavor
• Fresh-squeezed lemon juice-helps bring all of the flavors of the tomato-cucumber salad together
• Sauteed garlic-gives the hummus added garlicky flavor
• Cumin and Pepper-adds extra earthy flavor to the hummus
• Olive oil-used to saute the garlic

Process

1. Chop all of the vegetables and herbs and make the salad. In order to make the salad, simply mix them together along with the lemon juice. A little salt and pepper here is optional depending on your palette; just bear in mind that adding salt will draw out water. In this case, if adding salt, I recommend making the salad last; just before you top the dip and eat it.
2. Make the whipped feta and set it aside.
3. Jazz up your hummus or make it from scratch!

How to cut the vegetables

Since this is a dip, be sure to cut up the cucumber and tomato very small...there's no need to mince, just make sure they'll fit well on your cracker or chip of choice. Having the vegetables chopped into small pieces is key here because keep in mind...you'll use some sort of chip or cracker and you'll want everything to fit.

Making whipped feta

Whipped Feta lies atop the hummus... it's really fun to make, I love watching the texture morph before my eyes and it is so so versatile!! Typically made with cream cheese, I decided to play up the theme here and make it with Greek Yogurt. You will definitely need a food processor but making it is really rather simple, all you have to do is add the feta and yogurt and blend until smooth.

Depending on the type of food processor you have you may find the need to add ½ a teaspoon of water but be cautious to add no more than this!. be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every thirty seconds or so. You will notice that the consistency will become looser as you blend so be sure to check on it. I recommend blending in intervals so that the mixture doesn't become too soupy. Don't be alarmed, there will most likely be very tiny bits of feta cheese upon completion.

How to make hummus for Mediterranean Inspired Layer Dip

My favorite way to jazz up my store-bought hummus for this dip is to saute the garlic and spices and letting it cool before mixing it into the hummus. If you have time, go ahead and do this the day before and let your hummus marinate in the garlic. Yum!!

How to serve

I serve this dip with pita chips or pita crackers. If you want to get really fancy, you could toast pita bread in the oven and serve it this way, how delicious would that be?!?!

You can use a medium-sized clear bowl or container so that the layers can be seen. Alternatively; use a few smaller dishes as seen in the completed photos below.

Variations

• Make your whipped feta with cream cheese instead of Greek yogurt
• Use store-bought roasted garlic hummus instead of adding your own garlic and spices
• I used grape tomatoes; use the tomato of your choice based on taste preference

Can you freeze layer dip?

Due to the changes that take place upon freezing certain substances, I would steer clear of using this preservation method. Freezing a layered dip will just lead to a watery mess upon defrosting. This is best enjoyed immediately!

How to store layer dip

I highly recommend eating this right away but if you have LEFTOVERS be sure to store in an airtight container for no more than a day (you can even keep the veggies in there). After this time period, the vegetables will continue to release liquid, therefore, changing the consistency of the dip.

Enjoy!!!

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