Pita Chips with Labne Olive Oil Dip
Do you spend a ridiculous amount of money on low fat sea salt pita chips? Have you ever tried making your own?
I have to say, it is so spectacularly simple that I felt silly posting a “recipe” for it.* So I’m throwing in a dip recipe, too. As if you really needed help coming up with ways to eat your fresh-baked pita chips…
This dip is basically just labne and olive oil. Seasoned with za’atar.
Lately I’ve been putting za’atar in everything. In this dip, on the pita chips themselves, in chopped salads with olive oil, lemon, and feta, in soups and curries, in hummus… And the simplest: a dish of olive oil peppered with za’atar to sop up with fresh baguette or pita bread.
That’s how I knew even before trying it that this Middle Eastern dip would be so insanely tasty: all of the flavors go so well together. Olive oil swirled into Greek yogurt-esque labne with the za’atar blend of thyme, sesame, salt, and lemony sumac sprinkled over the top (giving it a necessary dose of color). Yum!
Let me confess that the pita chips and the dip, should you make extras, will probably keep for a few days– the pita chips in an airtight container, and the dip in the fridge– but I wouldn’t know; this seems to be one appetizer that resists resulting in leftovers!**
In other words, try this. Especially if 1) you are trying to cut back on your pita chip-buying budget, 2) you’re sad that the pita bread you bought has gotten slightly stale, or 3) you’ve been searching high and low for a seriously yummy appetizer that’s easier to make than it looks. Or 4) all of the above.
* Especially when it’s not as if I baked the pita myself… My girlfriend’s been getting into bread-baking recently, and she’s promised to try her hand at pita bread, but until she does, the delicious and super-thin white and whole wheat pita breads I’ve been buying from a local Eastern European market will have to suffice.
** Luckily I suppose you can still feel healthy after eating a whole bowl, knowing that this creamy addictive dip is made from yogurt and not from… scratch that, I don’t even want to know what those white ranch-like creamy grocery store vegetable dips are made of.
Print this recipe. (PDF)
RECIPE:
Pita Chips with Labne Olive Oil Dip
(Serves 2-4 as an appetizer or snack)
Ingredients:
~ 4 rounds pita bread, sliced in large triangles (and separated into a single layer)
~ 8-10 Tbsp. olive oil
OPTIONAL:
~ sea salt
~ za’atar (a blend of thyme, sumac, sesame, and salt)
For the Dip:
~ 1/2 cup Labne or Greek yogurt (about 6-7 Tbsp.)
~ 3-4 tsp. olive oil
~ 1 tsp. za’atar, or to taste
How to make it:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread parchment paper or tin foil on a cookie sheet. Split up the pita bread and arrange the triangles, inside (rough side) up on the cookie sheet.
2. Either lightly spray the pita chips with olive oil cooking spray, or use a brush to dab a bit of olive oil onto each chip. Sprinkle salt and/or za’atar over the chips before they go in the oven.
3. Bake for 7 minutes (or 10-12 minutes, for thicker pita bread), until the chips are crispy and just starting to brown.
4. Meanwhile, make the dip: Stir olive oil into the Labne until the texture becomes smooth and creamy. Sprinkle with za’atar. Enjoy!
Print this recipe! (PDF)
Related recipe posts:
> Tabbouleh (bulgar wheat salad with parsley and mint)
> End-of-summer Tomato Salad
> Eggs Benedict with Greek Yogurt Hollandaise Sauce
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spontaneous tomato 
YUM! And love the pics in this post. Nice work!
Aw, thank you! : )
Best snack ever my friend, looks delicious :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks! (And yeah, I feel that I’m often restraining myself from posting snacks masquerading as recipes, but this is such a good one!)
What a good idea! I don’t usually buy pita chips but these look so much better, and the dip sounds great.
Thanks! I should have included people who don’t buy pita chips at all in my list of people who should try this! Homemade chips are healthier and more customizable than the store-bought ones anyway.
After having lived in the middle east for a little while, i have a strong fondness for arabic dishes. This is one of my favorite snacks…. Your labne dip looks perfect!
Thank you! That is so nice to hear. (I mean, I know it tastes good to me, but I’ve basically just improvised the ratios, since I learned that this is a way to eat labne, but have never actually looked up a real recipe for it.)
Looks yummy, pretty and easy. The big 3 for me. Cheers!!
Definitely! The classic big 3. Followed by: do I have all or most of the ingredients already… : )
I could live on Labne! This looks delicious!
Mmm, me too! Besides eating it by the spoonful, I now use labne as substitutes for so many things: whole milk yogurt, sour cream in baking recipes, eggs in Hollandaise sauce…
Hi Allison, thanks for stopping by my blog – I see now why you were checking out lebneh recipes! Weird, too, because I just finished making yogurt, which is destined to be lebneh. You’ve showcased such a simple and wonderful breakfast (or snack), with the pita and zaatar. One of my favourites, and I can’t wait to be done with this low-carb diet I’m on so I can indulge again!
Hi Ruby, I actually stumbled upon your blog post only after my own labne dip recipe was up, when this post (which links to yours) showed up in my WordPress feed: http://smileysoyabean.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/a-middle-eastern-treat-pitta-and-labneh/
Anyway, I am happy to have found your D.I.Y. lebneh recipe and your lovely blog!
MMMMMMMMM,…what lovely & appetizing food! Food that makes me smile! :)
Me too! :)