7(ish?)-Layer Greek Dip

Hubba hubba. This is scrumptious. Why didn't I think of this myself? It's a riff on the more traditional 7-layer Mexican dip. I think I like this one better. (Heresy, I know.)

Ingredients:

8 oz. block cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese

1 tsp. dried dill weed

2 tsp. lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 1/2 c. (12 oz.) hummus (can be store purchased or homemade)

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

3 med. tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 c. chopped kalamata olives

1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 full green onion stalks)

1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese

1/8–1/4 c. chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

Directions:

With an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese, dill weed, lemon juice, and garlic. Spread this layer in the bottom of a pie dish or a half-sheet pan. Spread the hummus layer next. In order, layer on the cucumber, tomatoes, kalamata olives, green onions, feta, and parsley. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. Serve with pita chips, pita bread, or even tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Chickpea Tagine

Our food co-op brought in an assortment of root veggies this week, and fortuitously found a recipe that incorporated many of them while cruising the Food & Wine recipe search. (Note: It's awesome. You can search by ingredients for recipe or for multiple ingredients.)

Anyway, this chickpea tagine was great. It's a thick veggie stew with Moroccan flavors.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. dried chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans) (allow time to soak overnight and drain if using dried) or use 1 can prepared chickpeas (what I did! Much easier)

1/4 tsp. saffron threads (I used the much less expensive Spanish variety available at Caputo's)

1 quart plus 2 Tbsp. water

1 large onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp. ground cumin

One 3-inch cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

2 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

Once 14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

Salt

2 small zucchini, diced

1 Tbsp. minced preserved lemon rind (I used lemon jelly with preserved lemon rind . . . it worked fine)

Freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves

Yogurt and harissa for serving (I didn't have harissa, so I used piment d'espelette . . . could probably use cayenne in a small amount)

DIRECTIONS:

1) If using dried chickpeas, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until tender, 45 minutes. Drain. Skip this step if using canned chickpeas.

2) In a bowl, crumble the saffron in the 2 tablespoons of water; steep for 10 minutes.

3) In a large pot (at least 3 1/2 quarts), melt the butter and let brown. Add the olive oil and heat for 30 seconds. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter and oil over moderate heat until golden; 8 minutes. Add the cumin, cinnamon stick, and crushed red pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the saffron water, chickpeas, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, the quart of water (4 cups), and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the squash and potatoes are tender, 30 minutes.

4) Add the zucchini and the preserved lemon; simmer until the zucchini is tender, 5 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. Season the tagine with salt and pepper and stir in the cilantro. Serve in bowls with a dollop of plain yogurt and harissa.

Yum.