Easy recipe: 7-Layer Dip for Tortilla Chip Day, 24 February

Make our quick and easy 7-Layer Dip recipe and learn all about one of our most popular snack foods from its prehistoric roots to its rise to international success

Golden, salty and crunchy: tortilla chips are an addictive snack that delight those of us with a taste for the savoury. February 24 is Tortilla Chip Day, so instead of your usual Netflix snacks, whip up our super-easy 7-Layer Dip, open a bag of chips, and read about the history of this Tex-Mex treat.

Central Americans have used ground maize to make unleavened bread for millennia. When the Conquistadors arrived in the late 1400s, they saw the loaves and called them “tortillas,” due to the similar round, flat shape they shared with the egg-based omelettes eaten in Spain.

Over the centuries, the corn tortilla remained a staple in the Central American diet, being used for such dishes as tacos, enchiladas and tostadas. They also served as spoons and plates, transporting food from pot to mouth.

From the mid-20th Century, those living beyond the Southwest discovered Mexican and Tex-Mex food and it became a trendy “ethnic” cuisine.

In the early 1950s, Rebecca Webb Carranza was the co-owner of a Mexican delicatessen in Los Angeles, California. Legend has it that the shop’s automated tortilla machine kept turning out wonky tortillas that couldn’t be sold.

As a savvy businesswoman, Rebecca sought a way to make use of food that otherwise would have become scraps, and hit on the idea of cutting the oddly shaped tortillas into wedges, then frying them.

She sold them by the bagful to her customers, who loved the new snack and ensured Rebecca’s place in history as the first person to make and sell tortilla chips.

The chips’ popularity exploded worldwide throughout the 1970s and 80s, and today they are one the most popular snack foods in the USA and Europe.

Recipe: 7-Layer Dip

The following amounts are a guide only: feel free to alter amounts of any ingredient to suit your own tastes.

To make the dip vegan, substitute the sour cream for cashew sour cream or plain yogurt, and the cheese for a sharp vegan cheese.

1 can of refried beans

2 tablespoons of pickled jalapeño slices

2 teaspoons of taco seasoning or mild chili powder

2 medium avocados

1 clove of garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt, to taste

240 ml of sour cream

240 ml of Mexican-style salsa

120 g of sharp, shredded cheddar-style cheese

1 medium tomato

1 Half yellow bell pepper

90 g black pitted olives

Place the refried beans over low heat. Roughly chop the jalapeños and add to the beans with the taco seasoning or mild chili powder. Mix well. You may have to add a bit of water to keep mixture from sticking.

Pit the avocados and scrape their flesh into a small bowl. Finely mince the garlic and add to the avocados with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

Mash well with a fork into you get a chunky paste. Taste to check the salt and add more if necessary.

Chop the tomato and pepper into small cubes, and slice the olives into rings.

On a large platter or in an oval glass dish, layer the dip as follows: