Artichoke-Spinach Dip
- 2 lemons
- 5 globe artichokes
- 2 cups firmly packed baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Prepare a large bowl of water.
- Peel 1 lemon with a vegetable peeler, then cut in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl.
- Remove any tough outer leaves from artichokes.
- Working with one artichoke at a time, use a serrated knife to cut off the top quarter of each artichoke.
- Use kitchen shears to trim sharp tips of the leaves.
- Remove any small leaves from bottom and trim stem so artichoke can stand upright; keep in lemon water to keep it from turning brown while repeating with remaining artichokes.
- Fill a large pot with 2 inches of water; set a steamer basket (or colander) inside pot, and bring water to a boil.
- Place the lemon peel and artichokes, stem ends down, in basket.
- Cover and steam until bases of artichokes are easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 20 minutes.
- Let cool.
- Pull off leaves, and reserve for serving.
- Trim inner part of each artichoke to the heart; scrape out fuzzy choke and discard it.
- While artichokes are cooking, fill another large pot with 2 inches of water; set a steamer basket (or colander) inside pot, and bring water to a boil.
- Add spinach; cover and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Remove basket with spinach; when cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible, and coarsely chop spinach.
- Finely grate the zest of remaining lemon, then cut in half and extract juice.
- In a food processor, combine zest and juice with artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, shallot, garlic, ricotta, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cayenne pepper; season with black pepper.
- Pulse until combined.
- Stir in spinach and all but 1 tablespoon mozzarella.
- Transfer to an ovenproof dish.
- Sprinkle mixture evenly with parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon mozzarella.
- Bake 10 minutes; remove from oven.
- Heat broiler.
- Broil dip until edges are bubbling and top is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Serve immediately with reserved artichoke leaves.
- (Per 1/4-cup serving)
- Calories: 226
- Saturated Fat: 2.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.8g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Protein: 9g
- Sodium: 296mg
- Fiber: 3g
lemons, artichokes, baby spinach, mayonnaise, shallot, garlic, ricotta cheese, salt, cayenne pepper, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/artichoke-spinach-dip-394038 (may not work)