Sunday Afternoon Snack

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Every once in a while I get the urge to make a nice little snack for my family between lunch and dinner on Sunday afternoons.  Today happened to be one of those days and I chose to make one of my all time favorites.  Spinach artichoke dip is one of those treats that makes you grateful that it is possible for somewhat unlikely ingredients to be combined to create the most delightful and satisfying taste. Add to that a a nice crusty baguette or even a good multi grain cracker baked with sea salt and you have yourself a delicious and hearty snack to hold you over until dinner time.

It would be easy to convince yourself that spinach artichoke dip is a nice healthy snack but I can't say with complete confidence that this is true. I have never done the research on this and to be honest, I am not really all that concerned about it. What I do know is that it is ok to allow yourself to indulge every once in a while and if you can do that with a dish that includes not one but two vegetables, then you are indulging in the best possible way.

Here are the ingredients

I have canned artichoke hearts, fresh spinach (you can use frozen spinach as well), a blend of Italian cheeses, sour cream, mayonnaise, a lemon, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Preparing the ingredients

To start, chop two 15 ounce cans of artichoke hearts into small bite size pieces.  I prefer a little more artichoke to spinach ratio in this dish but you can reduce the amount of artichokes if you wish to.    

Fill a large pot three quarters of the way full of water, salt the water liberally and bring to a boil.  Once the water is boiling add 10 to 12 ounces of fresh spinach and blanch for about 30 seconds or until the spinach turns a nice bright green.  Remove the spinach from the water and immediately run under cold water or dip into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.  

This is how your spinach should look after being blanched

Once the spinach is cooled, you will need to squeeze as much of the water out of it as you can.  This can be a bit of a task.  It does not need to be bone dry but you do not want a lot of liquid left in these leaves when you are done.

Once you have squeezed as much of the water from the spinach as you can, this is what you are left with

It does not look like enough but trust me, it is a sufficient amount for this recipe.  

Leaving the spinach in a ball, you will give it a rough chop and start to separate the chopped leaves with your fingers as you add it to the bowl of artichokes. Once all of the spinach is added to the bowl, stir to combine the two ingredients.

When you are done mixing the spinach and artichokes, add one large clove of minced garlic, a good pinch of red pepper flakes (optional), 8 ounces of the Italian cheese blend, 1 cup of sour cream, one cup of mayonnaise, and the juice of half of a lemon as well as the lemon zest, and finally add sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste.

Once all of these ingredients are combined, transfer the mixture to an appropriate size baking dish and top it with another 2 ounces of the Italian cheese blend.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and place your baking dish on a rack that is positioned on the middle of the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the dish is bubbling and the cheese starts to brown on top. Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the top with some dried thyme and oregano (optional).

This is a creamy, cheesy, tart, and slightly earthy dish of goodness.  It is an easy snack to serve to your family on a Sunday afternoon as well as a a great dish to serve at any party or dinner gathering.  I have a friend who considers this one of her comfort foods and will eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner when I make a big  batch and share it with her.  I hope you, your family and friends will love this recipe as much as I do.

Enjoy!