I love finger foods and make a point of bringing you frequent posts featuring some sort of finger food. For me, there is something magical about finger food. It seems both sophisticated and mischievous. I suppose it’s because finger food is party food. The trouble is that finger food can be a real chore for the home cook. It’s fiddly, time-consuming, and, if I’m honest, pretty dull to make. Entertaining can be hard work – that’s a given. After all, if parties were easy caterers would go out of business. That doesn’t mean, however, if you do throw a party you need to spend days in the kitchen or hundreds of dollars on caviar; there’s party food that can be made without much hassle. Chips and dip come to mind. Almond and Swiss Chard-Tahini Dip.
If you love hummus this dairy-free Almond and Swiss Chard-Tahini Dip will become a new favorite. Make sure you have plenty of warm pita chips to scoop it up. GREG
Ingredients
- 2 pita breads
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle)
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Directions
Place oven rack in center position. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut each pita into 6 pie-shaped wedges, then separate the layers creating 24 “chips”. Lay these onto 1 or 2 rimmed Parchment-lined baking sheets in a single layer, rough interior side up.
In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, parsley, thyme, lime juice, Worcestershire, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Brush the entire top of each of the pita chips with a generous amount of the spiced oil, making sure to get some of the herbs and spices on each chip. Save the extra spiced oil for serving.
Bake in the oven until deeply golden and crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Make sure to check them often as they can go from light gold to burnt quickly. You may also find it necessary to rotate the baking sheets part way through cooking, depending on your oven.
Serve warm or at room temperature with your favorite dip or additional oil for drizzling if desired.
Almond and Swiss Chard-Tahini Dip
Print This Recipe Yield 3 cupsSource Adapted from Maydan, Washington D.C.Published
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound green-stemmed Swiss chard (2 or 3 bunches)
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
- 5 clove garlic (peeled and minced)
- ⅓ cup chopped almonds (or more if needed)
- ½ cup tahini
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- sea salt (as needed for seasoning)
- water (if needed)
- pita chips (see recipe)
- lemon wedges (for serving)
Directions
Remove the center stem and rib from each of the Swiss chard leaves. Tear the leaves into small pieces and roughly chop the stems and ribs. Set both aside separately.
Warm ⅓ cup olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Cook reserved stems and ribs in the warm oil, stirring often until tender and beginning to color. Add garlic; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add reserved chard leaves by the handful, letting them wilt some before adding more; cook, tossing, until all the leaves are wilted and tender, 10–12 minutes total. Let cool.
Place Swiss chard and any cooking liquid in a food processor, add chopped almonds, tahini, lemon juice, and remaining ⅓ cup oil. Season with salt and process, adding a little water if needed, until dip is creamy and speckled with chard. This could take several minutes. Season with more salt if needed. If the texture of the dip seems too thin add a tablespoon or so additional chopped almonds and blend again.
Transfer dip to a serving bowl. Serve with pita chips and lemon wedges.
Love dishes like this! Great for a party, although I’d be more inclined to make it for dinner. And we have Swiss chard in our garden that needs using — perfect. 🙂 Thanks!
We could so easily sit down and make this our entire meal…
I love the look and sound of this dip–almonds and chard together sound wonderful. Love the herb-brushed pita chips, too.
Certainly not your average chips and dips but I’d expect nothing less from you Greg. The spiced oil on the chips alone let me know I would enjoy your finger food.
Love this twist on hummus, and those pita chips look amazing! I would eat way to many, I know it. Yum.
This is my type of party food. I wonder what the taste of the swiss chard is in this hummus style dip. The colour is awesome! Perfect recipe for the upcoming party season!
Fabulous stuff. I love what you did with the chips as well! I agree with you on entertaining. When I catered, people needed me because they knew they couldn’t cook, but they also had no idea what food cost! One person asked me to do basic hors d’oeuvres for $3. a person. I’m like, “have you ever bought good cheese?”
Wow, love the color and texture! Wouldn’t have thought to add both almonds and tahini.
For me the addition of almonds was a texture thing. It seemed a little thin without it. GREG
What a brilliant use of swiss chard! Those pita chips look fabulously delicious.