Thursday, January 21, 2010

Five Layer Mexican Dip

This week I'm hosting over at Craving Ellie in My Belly - and I chose Ellie Krieger's Five Layer Mexican dip (link to original recipe here). Just a side note, I'm not sure how this is FIVE layers...I counted three. Maybe four, if cheese is a layer. Anyhow...

I wanted to make something snack-y, because the biggest snack day all year is coming up - SUPER BOWL!

Did you know the Super Bowl is the highest chip consumption day of the year? True story. So, it makes sense to make something healthy to dip those chips into. I mean, I love onion dip as much as the next person, but my love handles tell another story...

So, how does this stack up to other dips? I loved it! I tried to feed it to the G-Rex, but being two years old, it was a little spicy for his palate.

And, it's very pretty. I love pretty food. I threw a little extra cilantro on top to make it pop. Sorry to all the cilantro haters out there (p.s. what is WRONG with you?).

I made very few modifications to the original recipe. I left out the jalapeno (Thank God. I had no idea how HOT chipotles in adobo are. Holy heat, Batman).

I did find the dip to be a little watery after being in the fridge for a while - SO - either serve it immediately, or omit the extra water the black bean portion of the dip calls for. And drain the black beans really, REALLY well. I'd probably even pat them down on a paper towel.

Without further ado, I bring you:

Five Layer Mexican Dip (courtesy of Ellie Krieger and foodnetwork.com)

Gather:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo

4 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups corn kernels (10-ounce box frozen corn)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

2 ripe avocados
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion
3/4 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar

How to:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until they soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.

Put half of the onion mixture into a food processor with the black beans, chipotle pepper, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, cumin and salt. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Add the corn to the skillet with the remaining onion mixture and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro leaves.

In a small bowl mash the avocado with the remaining lime juice. In a medium bowl toss together the tomatoes, scallion and jalapeno, if using. Season tomato mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spread the black bean dip into the bottom of an 8 by 8 glass baking or serving dish. Top with the corn mixture, spreading it out to form a single layer over the beans, repeat with the avocado, then the tomatoes. Top with cheese. Serve with baked chips.

Per Serving:

Calories 140; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 0.7 g) ; Protein 5g; Carb 16 g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 6mg; Sodium 245 mg

4 comments:

  1. This was a great pick! It makes me almost want to watch football lol

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  2. This sounds delicious!! Somehow it didn't happen for me this week, so I posted about the Confettie Chili.... I am probably making this Saturday as I have some friends over then, so will post about it somewhere next week.

    Your dip looks absolutely delicious by the way!!

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  3. You picked a terrific recipe. Although I didn't make it quite as it was written, the result was very good. We love it.
    Your photo is so fresh and beautiful.

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  4. Yes, it's a very pretty dip......yours being prettier than mine by far....I did think that this would be perfect for the Superbowl....way to think ahead!
    Thanks for a great pick!

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