Greek Seven Layer Dip

I love appetizers. They are probably my favorite part of a meal plan, next to desserts. And we love homemade hummus, but I have brought that to parties so many times, I wanted to make something different. 

At the store, they often have hummus combined with olives, or sun-dried tomatoes, or feta cheese. When I started planning how to "amp-up" my hummus, my mind went to those, and then skipped over to that old stand-by Mexican Seven Layer Dip. Everyone knows the one...beans, sour cream, cheese, lettuce. I was sure I could figure out how to make that with hummus as the base. I have to say, this was one of the simplest, but most elegant looking plates I have done for awhile. 

The picture probably doesn't do it justice, but I was trying to show all the different layers in the dip, and the only way to do that is to eat some first ! Key to this dish is the homemade hummus. Of course, you can buy it at the store, but it is so easy to make, once you have done it, you will never buy it again! 

Greek Seven Layer Dip 

For the hummus: 

1 cup dried chickpeas 

6-7 cloves garlic 

1/4 cup (or so) freshly squeezed lemon juice 

1/4 cup (or so) olive oil 

Place the chickpeas in a saucepan, cover with 2 inches of water, and let soak overnight. In the morning, rinse the chickpeas and cover again with 2 inches of fresh water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and simmer an hour or more, until the chickpeas are tender. Rinse and let cool. Place chickpeas and garlic in a food processor, and add half of the lemon juice and half of the olive oil. Process the chickpeas, adding additional liquid until the mixture is smooth. 

For the rest of the layers: 

1 cup Greek yogurt 

1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped 

1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped 

1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped 

1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 seedless cucumber, diced

1 roma tomato, diced 

1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 

In a pie dish or large, flat container, spread about 1 inch of hummus. Combine yogurt, dill and mint together, and spread on top of the hummus. Top with spinach, then onion, tomato, olives and feta cheese. Refrigerate until ready to serve with pita chips.