I love the combination of fresh spinach and artichoke and this creamy spinach artichoke dip is absolutely marvelous sizzling right out of the oven! I have made it as healthy as can be-no mayo, or cream, or cream cheese, or sour cream or any of those ingredients I have seen in most recipes for this dip. Instead, I use my simple béchamel sauce recipe (click here) free of saturated fats, made with wholegrain flour to boot and I just add a small amount of grated gruyère cheese to finish it up. I intentionally use a very flavorful cheese so that I can use it sparingly and still achieve that wonderful cheesy-ness! You can serve it sizzling hot, right out of the oven, or at room temperature, with wholegrain pita chips, or thinly sliced whole wheat baguette. Perfect for a Holiday entertaining!!
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 (14 oz) can organic marinated artichoke hearts, drained
4-5 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
pinch of coarse salt
¾ cup Béchamel sauce
½ cup grated gruyere cheese 
Instructions
- Preheat oven to Broil 400 F.
- Place olive oil in a medium non-stick pan and sauté the chopped shallot until soft.
- Add the drained artichoke hearts (cut them in quarters if they are not already cut), to the pan and continue to cook for a few minutes until slightly browned.
- Add the fresh spinach to the same pan and continue to cook, covered for a few minutes.
- Turn off the stove and add coarse salt.
- Place the artichoke/spinach mixture in a small baking pan and pour the béchamel sauce evenly over it.
- Sprinkle with grated cheese and place in preheated oven, close to the top broiler, for 10-12 minutes until the top is sizzling and perfectly golden.
This post originally appeared on cuisinicity.com.
