I almost always have enough Greek ingredients in my fridge to toss together a Greek salad or put a “Greek spin” on something typically American. Some common staples in my fridge and pantry are – but not limited to- plain, nonfat Greek yogurt we buy it in bulk, bell peppers, seedless cucumbers, ripe tomatoes – in the winter I always get the cherry tomatoes; they are the only ones that still taste like a tomato, white, red, and sweet potatoes , red onions, fresh and/or frozen spinach, feta cheese, kefalotyri -a type of hard cheese you grate,kalamata olives, garlic, Greek oregano, fresh dill – or blended fresh dill in a tube, mint – dry or fresh, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, pita bread or chips, chickpeas or premade hummus, fresh lemons, mountain honey, frozen phyllo, ouzo, and of course tons of olive oil.
Having that on hand made it a breeze to throw together a little Greek-inspired dip to take along to a party I was heading out the door to in less than 20 minutes. There are definitely some shortcuts you can take too if you do not want to spend the time making homemade hummus and tzatziki.
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain hummus*
- 2 cups tzatziki*
- 1 seedless cucumber chopped
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 red onion chopped or 3-4 green onions chopped
- 1/4-1/2 cup kalamata olives chopped
- 6-8 oz. feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Choose a flat, square or round serving dish about 8×8″ if possible – use shallow bowl if not. Simply spread the hummus, tzatziki, then evenly distribute the cucumber, tomato, feta, onion, and olives. Let refridegerate 10-20 minutes if time allows. Serve with pita wedges or pita chips.
Homemade Hummus Homemade Tzatziki
An easy alternative to making tzatiki would be to to stir in 1-2 tablespoons of fresh dill, 1 tablespoon pressed garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, dash of lemon juice or red wine vinegar and dash of salt. This is really just eliminating the shredded cucumber, which in turn will prevent the yogurt from getting too watery, and since the dip already has chopped cucumbers – you really don’t need the extra shredded cucumber added in the tzatziki. Or you can just buy the premade stuff and call it a day
As with all recipes, I encourage you to make it your own, increase the ingredients you love and decrease the ones you don’t like. If you can’t stand garlic, leave it out – if you love it, double it! This dip ended up being a huge hit at the party and probably something I will continue to make again and again. You can also make personal dipping cups for party platters to keep it neat and clean too. With the leftovers from this batch I plan to spread it on a warm pita and add some grilled chicken!
Hope you like this quick and easy, Greek-inspired 7 layer dip! Let me know how you like it and as always, thanks for stopping by!
Great recipes.