Baja Bean Dip Recipe
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Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: One can refried beans, we prefer fat free.
Tobasco sauce
Guacamole
Cheddar Cheese, shredded, low fat about a cup to a cup and a half depending on how large the serving plate is
Sour Cream, we prefer fat free or low fat about a half a cup
Black olives, sliced and well drained, one tiny can
Tomato, diced, and drained
Batch of Green onions, diced and drained
Tortilla chips, or torn pieces of fresh flour tortilla
Plates and a serving spoon
A large flat dish for serving dip, a rim or sides is needed to keep the
dip together, it tends to spread
Bowls and dishes for various toppings
Paper towels
Guacamole recipe:
One ripe avocado; remove stem end if present, run knife all the way around
from top to bottom and back up the other side to halve, proceed right away
with mixing to prevent browning.
Garlic, half teaspoon to one teaspoon if desired
Lemon juice, about a teaspoon
Onion, one bunch of green salad onions, well washed, trimmed, diced and
well drained
Tomato if desired
Pinch salt
There are two to three main layers and the other toppings are scattered across the dip to finish it.
Bean
Guacamole/sour cream layer
Cheddar cheese layer, I always use extra sharp yellow
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Directions: |
Directions:Blend Tobasco into the refried beans to taste in a medium bowl. One of the tricky things about this recipe is to remember that all of the flavors will ripen so even if you sample a taste as you are mixing, it can become much more powerful upon ripening overnight. We always combine our bean
mixture the day before and store it in an airtight container in the fridge overnight so that it can ripen. Sometimes we put a small amount of garlic in the mixture as well. It just depends on how strong you want the flavors to be and this is always to personal taste. If you like the beans spicy, one half teaspoon to one teaspoon of Tobasco is probably a good place to start so
you can experiment with its heat potential.
Mash avocado by hand or in food processor, don’t overblend. Add lemon juice and salt to prevent browning, add garlic, minced, add onion, diced.
Blend all ingredients, mixture will be chunky. Add a small amount of tomato just before using. We don’t put tomato in ours for this recipe. At this
stage, I add a small amount of sour cream which gives the mixture the color of mint ice cream. Many people prefer to put the sour cream on first over the bean mixture and then the avocado. I have done both and both look and taste great, this step is a matter of personal preference. The avocado is showy in presentation so let it be the layer that shows before the other toppings are added. We also don’t make our guacamole until the day we are going to serve the bean dip. It is fragile in that it browns easily and it is also sometimes difficult to store this bean dip as the assembled dish needs to be kept flat and nothing can be stacked up on it due to crushing its
appearance. So the beans are prepped the day before and then it is all assembled about an hour before we are going to serve it. When I have guests arriving, this is the last item I prepare before their arrival. It is very important that the ingredients that are used for the topping
are as dry as possible, otherwise a rim of moisture can form from the accumulation of juice and wetness of the vegetables that is unappealing in appearance. I drain my olives and then lay them out on a paper towel while I am
assembling the bean dip. I also do the same with the onions and the tomato when they have been diced. Everything rests and drains on the paper towels while I am working, and sometimes I turn them over to make sure they are as dry and drained as possible. I prep the beans the day before, and when I assemble, I fix all of the final toppings, the cheese is grated, the olives, tomato, and green onion are draining.
Assembling the bean dip. Spread the beans in a flat-styled dish that people will serve themselves out of either using chips or scooping out onto
individual salad plates that they can carry it away from the table and eat. On top of the bean mixture goes the sour cream, then the guacamole, or the
sour cream/guacamole combination. Next, the grated cheese. I cover it well with yellow extra sharp cheddar cheese, this is our family’s preference.
Then, I put on a thick layer of onions, then black olives, lastly the diced tomatoes and serve. |
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Delicious and nutritious. Our family also refers to
this as a salad so if I am making Mexican food for a meal, I often make a bean dip too. This dish is great for all kinds of get-together at any time
of year. We love it summer and winter. You can also make this into very small servings so if one full bean dip is too much for you or your household, you can take a small one to Sunday dinner or for someone to have when they get off of work late at night. The best thing to do is experiment to see what your preference is. It is an attractive dish that you can place on a bed of ice for summer picnics, camping, and bar-b-ques, or put on your holiday table, it is appropriate for anything we’ve found over the years.
Sometimes in really hot weather, this is all we eat for dinner along with some grilled fish or chicken. Experiment with different plates and containers to serve it out of. Tiny ones look beautiful on the table and can take the place of a salad or side dish. This dish appeals to many taste palates.
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