Day 257: Baked Spinach & Artichoke Dip
We went to a small party tonight to say goodbye to R, who is moving to the west coast. It was warm enough for a barbecue – Italian sausages in hoagie buns, nachos with guacamole, and a baked spinach and artichoke dip I brought along. (Unbaked for transport, then popped in the oven for 20 minutes when it came time to eat it.) Tortilla chips would have gone well – typically it’s served with tortillas in restaurants – but by the time the dip was baked we had eaten all but the broken ones with the guacamole. (And by “we” I mean “me”.)
Most spinach & artichoke dips have loads of mayo, sour cream and Parmesan cheese; I trimmed this down quite a bit, so it still works without weighing you down too much.
Baked Spinach & Artichoke Dip
If you don’t like your dip chunky, put everything in the food processor and pulse it until it’s as smooth as you like.
1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup light sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 an 8 oz. pkg. light cream cheese (not fat free)
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 clove of garlic, finely crushed
salt & pepper
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella and/or an extra 2-4 Tbsp. grated ParmesanPreheat oven to 375F.
If you like, pulse the artichoke hearts and spinach with the sour cream or yogurt in a food processor until roughly chopped. In a bowl, mash together the cream cheese, mayo, Parmesan cheese, garlic and salt and pepper until well blended. Stir in the artichoke-spinach mixture and spread in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella or more Parmesan cheese. (The photo above is just Parmesan.)
Bake until heated through and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with tortilla chips or sliced soft, crusty baguette.
(The leftovers would have made a tasty omelette filling, had there been any.)
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September 13 2008 | appetizers and cheese and vegetarian | 8 Comments »
