The other day I made Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms as a side dish for dinner. Truly a match made in heaven. Healthy, earthy satisfying and quick. And, I said to make extra. One reason is so that you can make this Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Frittata.
This Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Dip is inspired by an appetizer we recently had at the La Fonda in Santa Fe. We had company from out of state here, so we took a day trip to Santa Fe. Yes, we did the touristy stuff at the Plaza, but it was lovely. The Christmas lights and decorations were up. After a long day of art galleries and shopping, we stopped in to La Fonda’s La Fiesta Lounge and had a drink and some delicious appetizers. Everybody’s favorite was the Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Dip. So, here is my version of it, perfect for a New Year’s Party.
This is what you will need. A package of fresh spinach, a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, garlic, asiago cheese, cream cheese, lemon juice and a dash of nutmeg.
Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Dip Ingredients
This only takes about 30 minutes to make start to finish. La Fonda serves their’s with little garlic toasts. I used some bagel chips. Since it is mainly made out of spinach, I think it is one of the healthier dips to have in your back pocket for the holidays and parties – can you say Super Bowl. Don’t forget the squeeze of lemon juice. It really makes a difference.
Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Dip start with the food processor.
If your Asiago cheese is not pre-shredded, break it up first in the processor by pulsing it a few times. Now, add half of your spinach and the garlic. Pulse until the mixture resembles a rough pesto. Empty everything out of the food processor bowl into a non-stick skillet. Add the rest of the spinach along with the sun-dried tomatoes, to the empty processor bowl. Pulse this mixture like you did the first. I suggest doing this in two batches because if you try to do it all in one you won’t get a consistent texture.
Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Dip, Simmer until the garlic is cooked.
Dump the second half of the mixture out of the food processor into your non-stick skillet. Mix everything together. Over low heat, cook at low simmer until the garlic no longer tastes raw. It should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Add in the nutmeg and cream cheese. Stir to combine. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Don’t leave out the lemon, it rounds out the taste. Serve warm with little toasts. I used Stacy’s Bagel Chips, just perfect.
This is not only a great healthy dip, you can use it as a sandwich spread (see my Ham and Cheese Panini), mixed into or over eggs, stirred into soup, the list goes on. I would love to hear how many ways you think of using this versatile recipe.
Serve this healthy dip warm with garlic toasts, pita or bagel chips.
In the large bowl of a food processor, pulse together 1/2 of the spinach, Asiago cheese and garlic. Scrape bowl out and add the rest of the spinach to the empty food processor bowl. Pulse second batch of spinach.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes with some of their oil and pulse again a few more times until mixture is the consistency of a rough pesto.
Pour mixture into a medium size non-stick skillet and bring to a simmer. Cook about 10 minutes or until the garlic no longer tastes raw.
Add cream cheese and nutmeg. Stir to melt the cream cheese and combine. Cook another 5 minutes or so until cream cheese is completely incorporated.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir and serve warm with toasts, crisp pita or bagel chips.
Use this not just for dip, but add to pasta like a pesto, as a spread on sandwiches. It is also good mixed into eggs.
This year the tomatoes came on late. I had two plants, one heirloom yellow cherry tomato and the other, sweet 100’s. I planted them in leftover molasses barrels for the cows Just shoot a few holes in the bottom and fill ’em with a mix of ranch sandy loam and horse manure. Out here on the ranch they went crazy the whole month of September. Most of them never made it into the house. Nothing like just picked, vine ripened tomatoes warmed by the sun.
