The Holy Grail Of Dip

It's always tricky when you are invited to someone's house for a gathering, and you have no idea what to bring. Something sweet? Something savoury? Something cold? Something that can be cooked ahead and then served at room temperature Perhaps you are having a few friends over for a barbecue and want to serve nibbles before the main event but don't want to go too overboard. You're looking for a crowd pleaser. Something that will make you look like you went to a great effort, when in actual fact, you didn't? Well, meet Ranchero Dip.

Imagine, dipping a chip into these luscious and colourful layers, and that chip being the vector to carry the explosion of flavours to your mouth: beans, guac, cheese, and more. It's textural, it's creamy, it's fresh, it's a feast for the eyes. Give this recipe a try and we know it will be hot on your rotation forevermore.

INGREDIENTS:

2 x cans of refried beans

1 x cup of full fat sour cream

1/2 cup of mayonaisse

3 x avocadoes

1 x cup shredded cheese (we love Perfect Italiano Mexican Style)

2 x punnets of cherry tomatoes, quartered (we love sweet solanato, and buy one orange or yellow punnet and one red)

1 x jar of sliced black olives (we use Always Fresh black sliced olives 235g jar)

6 x sprigs of spring onion, sliced into small discs

1 x jalapeño, finely sliced into discs (optional)

2 x limes

Salt to taste

1 x sachet of taco seasoning

Tortilla chips

METHOD:

First, set out your tray. something with deep sides, the larger the tray, the thinner the layers, it doesn't look as visually impressive, but it's easier to eat. You may have to adjust up or down with ingredients depending on the tray you use, but the above list should have you covered for most dishes between 20cm - 30cm in size.

Open you refried beans and spread a layer along the bottom. We like to use a palette knife to smooth the top.

Next, peel your avocadoes. Pop them in a bowl, season them with salt and the juice of the limes and mash them to perfection. Optionally at this stage you can add a touch of coriander powder and chilli flakes. Smear your perfect guacamole over the refried bean layer.

Then, add your sour cream, mayonnaise and taco seasoning to a bowl and stir thoroughly until well incorporated. Taste at this point. Does it need more taco seasoning? Does it need salt? Adjust seasoning to your taste. Smear this creamy layer carefully on top of the avocado. We gently dollop this layer over the avocado with a spoon and then smooth over with a palette knife, you don't want to fiddle this one too much because you don't want the layers to start mixing together.

Next, evenly sprinkle over your shredded cheese. Then add your tomatoes, spring onions and olives, and if you feel fancy, your discs of jalapeño. Set it aside to chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

It's ready to serve! We love to use the Mission tortilla strips, as they are long and rectangular and perfect for digging down into the dip to get a nice bit of all the layers in one bite.

¡Buen provecho!