LE SPINACH DIP

After a long absence, I’ve returned to the winter life. Blustery days call for rich, warm foods--and excuses. By no means is this a dietetic dish, but it is delicious. You could certainly use light cream cheese, light mayonnaise, and skim milk as I did if you don’t want to feel as guilty. I looked at many recipes for spinach dip and made up my own. It’s very easy and should take only about 15 minutes. Just remember to thaw the spinach before. And if not, you can always throw it in a pan and let the heat do the work.

Ingredients

2 cups of spinach, thawed and water squeezed out (about ½ a box)

Half a yellow onion, sliced into thin rounds

2 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1 box/8 oz. of cream cheese

¼ cup of mayonnaise

½ cup of milk

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco

Salt and pepper

I also used a bit of lightly sauteed Swiss chard for this, and mixed it with the spinach. You could use either green, or both, but the spinach has a stronger flavor typically.

Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Sautee the onion for a few minutes, on low heat, making sure the pan is hot when you put it in. Let it get nice and soft, but not crispy. Add the garlic, making sure it doesn’t get golden or crispy either.

It’s sort of messy to eat with large pieces of spinach, though equally delicious, so if you don’t want such large pieces of greenery, you may want to pass through the spinach with a knife before adding it to the pan.

Throw in your thawed and not-too-juicy spinach and/or Swiss chard, and start stirring, making sure any leftover moisture steams out. Toss in the rest of the ingredients, in any order really, making sure all of the cream cheese melts and so does the Parmigiano. Keep stirring to get everything well incorporated and the spinach and onion distrubuted evenly. Salt and pepper to taste, and put a hefty splash of Worcestershire and Tabasco in at the end. Give it a stir, and you’re done!

Enjoy with a fresh baguette, torn Jesus-style, or with sliced, toasted pieces of bread. Or crackers, or crudités such as baby carrots—my original plan, but of course I ended up just having it with bread.

If you want it to be gratin-style, you can sprinkle a bit more cheese on top along with some breadcrumbs, and put it in a ceramic or glass receptacle in the oven at about 160 C/320 F for about ten to twelve minutes.

Bon appétit!