Recipe Redesign: Spinach Artichoke Dip

Photo: http://www.seriouseats.com/

Last night my friend Laura had us girls over for pumpkin carving, Halloween watching, and apple cider drinking festivities.  Everyone chipped in and made delicious snacks to keep us from passing out secondary to spiked cider consumption.  Awhile back I found a recipe for spinach artichoke dip that I was hoping for an occasion to try.  This recipe is rather unique as it takes the dip back to its pre-American days; translation: no cheese and you can actually taste the artichoke.  It is amazingly flavorful and everything is fresh and light, making for a guiltless snack.  I served it with pita chips, but toasted baguette or crackers would also go well.  I doubled the original recipe, which yielded about 4 cups of dip.    

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Adapted (very slightly) from Serious Eats

• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 bunch (3-4 cups) spinach, stems removed
• 8-10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed under a knife
• 2 6 ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• ~1 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 pinch salt

 1.     Heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add spinach and a pinch of salt. Sauté stirring frequently until leaves appear glossy, limp and feathery. 

2.      Add garlic and cook another minute or two to soften the raw taste, add artichoke hearts and allow to heat through (this lets the brine combine with the oil). 

3.      Transfer mixture to blender or food processor and add lemon juice, pulse 5 to 6 times until spinach is broken up a bit.  

4.     Add ½ cup yogurt and pulse 2 more times.

5.     Transfer to bowl and mix well, add the rest of the yogurt until you have found a good spinach-yogurt balance (I say this because bunches of spinach are all different sizes).  If you have about 3 ½ to 4 cups of spinach, 1 cup of yogurt should be perfect. 

6.    Serve immediately or at room temperature.