 | Bonnie Aeschliman is a certified culinary professional who owns Cooking at Bonnie’s Place in Wichita. For more information, call 316-425-5224 or visit cookingatbonnies.com. To submit a question to Bonnie, e-mail her at bonnie@cookingatbonnies.com. |
Cooking & Cuisine
2013-04-29 13:23:07
Appetizer for a large group
Q-When I look at the May calendar, I begin to feel panicky. There are so many family gatherings and we celebrate everything—some we celebrate more than once. Of course, food is always involved. Most of our celebrations are casual and everyone pitches in and brings a dish. I want to take a different appetizer or dip that everyone will like but not too fussy. Do you have any suggestions?
A-When I am serving appetizers to a large group, I always look for something that will serve several rather than creating individual hand-crafted appetizers. I believe you will enjoy my recipe for Mediterranean Layered Dip. Unlike many dips, it is not loaded down with mayonnaise or cream cheese.
You will find it is fresh, it is healthy as it is chock full of fresh vegetables and it is easy to assemble. Layer the ingredients on a large, beautiful platter and you will have a vibrant, beautiful dip bursting with flavors of the Mediterranean that you family will simply devour.
Mediterranean Layered Dip Serves 16
©Cooking with Bonnie: Farm to France 2011
Vegetable Mixture:
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup chopped, peeled cucumber
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper
3 cups hummus (commercially prepared or homemade)
2 cups shredded fresh baby spinach
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup thinly-sliced green onions
¼ cup coarsely chopped, pitted Kalameta olives
Garnish: 3 tablespoons Pistachio nuts
Accompaniment: Pita chips
1. Combine vegetable mixture in a bowl; stir to mix. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes for flavors to marry.
2. To assemble: Spread hummus on a large serving platter. Arrange spinach on top, leaving a 1-inch border of hummus.
3. Drain excess liquid from tomato-cucumber mixture; discard liquid. Spoon tomato mixture over spinach, leaving a ½ inch border of greens showing.
4. Sprinkle feta cheese over vegetable layer.
5. Top with green onions, Kalameta olives and pistachio nuts. Serve with pita chips.
