2015 Cooking Club Week 15: Cheesy Spinach Dip

Santa Fe Cheesy Spinach Dip

Okay this one is an absolute killer. My American friend made this recently for a group of us as an appetiser at a party at her place. Like merry little piglets at a trough, a few of us stayed huddled close to the dish all evening, scooping up more of the cheesy, creamy goodness onto home-made pitta chips, or as we prefer to call them, bread shovels.

She made enough for about 30 people, but I have cut the recipe down to serve about 6 (as a starter). Although to be perfectly honest, the night we made this, the OH and I just skipped our main course entirely and ate practically the whole thing.

Ingredients

For the dip:

1 onion, chopped
Half a red pepper, chopped
4-5 jalapeno slices from a jar (or a fresh chilli of your choice), minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
300g of frozen spinach
150g cream cheese
3 tablespoons of buttermilk
75g parmesan, grated
120g white cheddar, grated
Olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne and paprika

For the pita chips:

Pitta, cut into bite size squares
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, cayenne and any herbs/garlic/seasoning you'd like to top them with

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160.

For the dip:

Saute the onions in a little olive oil until soft. Add the peppers (and chilli if using) and garlic and cook down for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and spinach and stir until the spinach has loosened up and the water has evaporated. Season to your preference. Don't worry if it looks odd.

Allow to cool for a moment.

In a big bowl, mix the cream cheese with the buttermilk, to loosen. Add the cooked vegetables. Now add the cheddar and parmesan, but reserve a handful of this to go on top. Stir everything together well and transfer to a small oven proof dish. Top with the remaining cheeses.

Bake for 20 minutes or so, until golden and beautiful like the first image above. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

For the pita chips:

Very simply, cut your pitta into squares. Lay on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil. Season as you wish, and pop under the grill until crispy.

Use the pitta to scoop up mounds of the cheesy spinach goodness.

Drink a bottle of chilled white wine, and go to bed.