Recently, I hosted a book club meeting for my wonderful book club “The Wormies”. In our book club, whoever chooses the book for the month will then host the meeting/book discussion. For my selection, I chose Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris. I had really high hopes for this book. The premise sounded fascinating, but in the end, I feel that it fell a bit short. And I thought it would have much more to do with cooking than it did. *hah* I think it was a well-written book and a lot of my book club members enjoyed it. For me, it was just too different from what I had expected when I read the synopsis. Sometimes high expectations can be a bad thing, hey? :)
Our book club meetings always involve a lot of great conversation, tons of laughs and….lots of food! For the meeting I hosted recently, I made my favourite cookies (Chocolate Toffee Macadamia Nut Cookies) and this delicious Mediterranean Layer Dip. Normally I bring my go-to favs – jalapeño popper dip or taco dip. But this time I decided to try something a little different. I layered hummus with some marinated artichoke hearts topped with some tzatziki. Then I loaded the dip with some veggies (red peppers, tomatoes and diced cucumbers) followed by a little bit of feta cheese and some olives to top it all off. I served the dip with some whole gain tortilla chips, but I think pita chips would have been ideal. I just could not find any at the store the day I was to serve this dip. Oopsie!
Feel free to use any of your favourite Mediterranean-inspired ingredients in this layer dip. You could add some roasted red peppers, diced red onion, some fresh chopped spinach or some fresh chopped herbs. Depending on time constraints, you can opt to make your own hummus and tzatziki (or vegan tzatziki) or use your favourite store brand. This dip is fantastic for parties and would be great to bring to a picnic or BBQ…if picnic/BBQ season ever arrives! *hehe*
Finally, I would like to thank you all so very much for your kind words of congrats on our engagement. It means a lot to us. xoxo
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups of hummus
- 1 cup of tzatziki or vegan tzatziki
- 1 cup of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
- 1 cup of diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup of diced red pepper
- 1/2 cup of diced tomato
- 1/2 cup of feta cheese, crumbled (omit if vegan)
- 1/4 cup of pitted, sliced kalamata olives
Method
- Spread hummus into a glass serving dish. Top with marinated artichoke hearts.
- Dollop tzatziki over top of the artichokes hearts. Sprinkle with diced cucumber, red pepper, tomato, kalamata olives and then the crumbled feta cheese.
- Serve with pita chips or whole grain tortilla chips.
Source: adapted from Whole Foods website
I remember wanting to bring this layered dip to a potluck years ago and not being able to find hummus in-stock in the store, nor knowing that garbanzo beans and chick peas were the same thing. Ladies do not try making these layers from scratch – buy them and save yourself tons of aggravation! ;-) Trust me. Tho I think it’s just about time to make this again – thanks for the new recipe, Courtney. BTW I like your meal plan on the right side-bar – smart!
Awe, I’m glad you like it! :) I ended up using store bought hummus and tzatziki when I made this because it was a last minute thing. But that’s the beauty of it. A really nice, flavourful appetizer you can throw together quickly for a variety of events :) Everyone really enjoyed it.
I am so making this ASAP!!! Wow does it look fantastic – love the flavor combinations :)
It was really yummy! I used greek yogurt tzatziki from the store and it made the dip so perfectly creamy! :)
Yum! I never think to use hummus as a component in a dip rather than as a dip on its own, but it’s such a great idea! Your book club is so lucky :)
Wow yummy!
I love this idea for a fresh tasting layer dip that’s different from the usual salsa and cheese dip. I love hummus and I love tzatziki even more, so combining them along with the veggies and feta sounds amazing! I’ll have to keep this in mind for our next potluck!
I am going to have to make this with Kristy’s vegan Feta- looks delish!
This looks amazing. A true sign that summer is near.