Spinach Artichoke Dip

One day, I went looking for a simple spinach artichoke dip recipe, and to my complete amazement, I didn't find one. You'd think that something so ubiquitous would be everywhere, and yet, all the recipes I encountered seemed either unnecessarily complicated or just downright strange. There were recipes with cream cheese and recipes with sour cream. There was even a recipe that used mayo, cream cheese AND sour cream all together. There was another that combined mayo, crème fraîche, Parmesan, Mascarpone and goat cheese. I mean, that's a bit of an overkill for a humble dish that should be a no-brainer, right? Ingredients like onions and breadcrumbs crept into the lists. Red pepper flakes. Jack cheese. Heavy cream. Eh?!

After half an hour of searching, I was done with all of that. I decided I would just trust my instincts and wing it. Like with my apple pie a while back, I put into the dip just what I thought should be there. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't believe in fancifying food just for the sake of making it "unique." I made half a recipe for a lunch party of 6, just to test the waters, so to speak. That was my only mistake - I should have doubled it. It was the most passed dish on the table, though it was by no means meant to be the star of the appetizer course. Seriously - this dip is straight up and no-nonsense, and I think because of it, it's pretty darn good. Give it a try for your next party and serve it up with sourdough baguette toasts or tangy olive bread - I promise, you're going to love it.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup finely chopped sauteed spinach (or 1 cup of chopped frozen spinach, defrosted)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated, plus a pinch for the top
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
a good squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly grated pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare a baking dish.

Chop the artichoke hearts roughly, but not into too large pieces. Combine half the chopped artichoke hearts, half the Parmesan and all the other ingredients except for the garlic in a food processor and process for a few 5 second pulses until fairly smooth (if you like really smooth dip, use all the ingredients - I like mine with a little bit of texture).

Stir in the rest of the artichoke hearts, the rest of the Parmesan cheese and the chopped garlic. Taste to adjust the seasoning. There shouldn't be any need for more salt, but I like to add pepper for a little bit of a bite. Also add more lemon juice if you like.

Transfer to the baking dish, top with a few pinches of Parmesan, and bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and the top is golden. Serve hot, but make sure to save a bite for yourself (cook's privilege!) because this stuff goes quickly.