I’m always confused by so-called “Seven-Layer Dips” because they’re usually just four- or five-layer dips….with a few toppings. To count those toppings as layers is a bit misleading it seems to me .
Thus, this recipe, which I adapted from a Fuss-Free Vegan Cookbook recipe (the original of which is actually called “The Ultimate 8-Layer Dip!), is simply called…
Vegan Mexican Four-Layer Dip….with toppings!
This is really just an assembly, BUT you will need to make some refried beans and some cheez sauce….oh, and you’ll need to mash some avos!
First, make these refried beans!
Next, mash three ripe avocados with 2 TBS of lime juice and a 1/2 tsp of salt.
Next, make this simple, but delicious, CHEEZ SAUCE:
Blend in the Vitamix until smooth; if you don’t have a Vitamix, soak the cashews in boiling water for twenty minutes and use a regular blender:
- 1 cup cashews
- 1 deseeded orange bell pepper
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 TBS Better Than Bouillon vegetable base
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
Next, make this SALSA!!
Pico de Gallo Salsa
Pulse in the food processor:
- 1 white onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- giant handful of fresh cilantro
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 serrano peppers (if you don’t like it too hot, remove the seeds and pulp)
- juice of one lime
Pour into a bowl and then pulse in the food processor:
4 LARGE tomatoes!
Pour into the bowl with the onion mixture and stir well. This will make a lot more salsa than you need, but it is delicious!
Next chop up (for the TOPPINGS):
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 jalepeno pepper
- 2 green onions
ASSEMBLE!!
On the bottom of a 9×13-inch pyrex dish…
- spread the refried beans,
- follow with the mashed avocados,
- then pour on the cheez and spread it evenly.
- Top this with a couple of cups of salsa!
- Then, top it all with the cukes, olives, jalapenos, green onions, and cilantro.
This dip is SO freakin’ good that even my bean-hating sister couldn’t get enough of it. Mind you, she neglected the bottom layer with most of her scoops, but still!!
My point is that even omnis love this delicious, fresh-tasting dip!
Now, the dip tastes best with regular tortilla chips, BUT if you want to avoid all that fat and go for a healthier vehicle for getting the aforementioned dip into your piehole, you can opt for these super healthy lentil tortilla chips.
They aren’t terrible and, really, with a dip this great, you need only a vehicle (other than a spoon) to pile it on, so why not give the chips a try.
Taste- and texture-wise, they’re similar to quinoa flatbread.
Smoky Chipotle Lentil Chips
1 cup red lentils
1/4 cup tahini
1 slice red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp chipotle spice
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 medjool date
salt and pepper
¾ cup water
1 tbsp dried chili pepper
Throw all the ingredients into the Vitamix and blend until super smooth. Add the dried chili peppers and pulse once or twice. Spread over a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for thirty minutes at 375. Remove from oven and cut into tortilla chips. Place chips on oven rack and bake for another five minutes at 350.
We spent a lovely late summer afternoon at The Thatch Pub on Hornby Island this afternoon. The ocean was calm and sparkling in the late afternoon on the ferry over…
And the song of the day is Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” because I’ve been listening to Andra Day quite a bit lately and some of her songs give me a hankering for an Amy tune or two.
Sideways Cottage... 