Ben’s mom is not really into cooking. She certainly does a fine job when she decides to do it, but she just doesn’t enjoy it the way some people do. I’m happy cooking, she’s happy eating what I make, and it’s an ideal situation for both of us. However, there is one dish she is known for among family and friends: her layered tex-mex dip. You know what I’m talking about – a layer of refried beans, a layer of spiced sour cream/mayo, etc. topped with lots of cheese, tomatoes, green onions, etc. I’m not alone in saying that I am positively crazy about her tex-mex. She brings it along nearly every time she comes over and I never complain because, dude, I love that stuff. (And I know this sounds crazy but try as I might, it never comes out quite the same when I make it.)
Anyway, I saw this layered Greek dip and was instantly taken with the idea. So brilliant, to take the concept of a layered dip and apply a Greek flavor profile. Why didn’t I think of this? I’m just glad someone did. Ben’s parents came over a few weeks ago and when they offered to bring a tex-mex, for maybe the first time ever I said we would skip it because I had something new to try. This dip is so, so awesome. Between four adults and one kid, we cleaned the plate over the course of a couple hours. And unlike with tex-mex, I didn’t feel nearly as guilty about filling up on this stuff. You can definitely customize this to suit your tastes. I used oven-dried tomatoes because I am increasingly in love with them, but you could also use sun-dried tomatoes or even just halved cherry or grape tomatoes. Kalamata olives would be the natural choice for a Mediterranean dip but we don’t like them, so I opted for black olives instead. The quantities you need for each topping will depend on your preferences and how large your serving platter is. I have a feeling this will become another family staple for us and we might be seeing a little less tex-mex in our future. As much as I love tex-mex, I’m not even sad about that.
