Raw Spinach and Artichoke Dip

When I left Just Food Co-op in Minnesota to move to California I downloaded all of the recipes that I had developed while I was Deli manager. I also took some of the existing recipes because they were so good. I never planned to make profit off of those recipes, but sure enough the universe made sure to let me know that those recipes were not mine when my computer crashed and I lost all of them. C'est la vie!

This recipe is one of the co-op's originals that I have tried to reproduce. While it does not match exactly the dip we made, I think it's pretty tasty nonetheless.

As usual I was using up "pantry" items so I used aioli instead of the usual mayonnaise and I was able to use some of the marinated artichokes that I had made a few months ago. I still added some canned artichoke hearts since they give it a little more of a creamy consistency.


Unlike many spinach artichoke dips out there, this is not cooked and uses only a little cheese, and parmesan at that. But fear not, this is not one of those overly healthy dips, it's got plenty of creamy decadent goodness in it!

Raw Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, packed
1 cup artichoke hearts
1/2 cup crumbled parmesan (little nugget size if possible, not shredded)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 jalapeno, chopped (deseeded for less heat)
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise or aioli
salt
pepper
tabasco (optional)

Place the first five ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until all ingredients are chopped but NOT pureed. It should look like this.

Add the mayonnaise or aioli 1 tablespoon at a time and blend well. You only want enough for it to hold together, not to become a super creamy dip. Add salt, pepper and Tabasco if you want it a little hotter. Allow the flavor to marry while chilling in the refrigerator. Then get out of the way, it will go fast!

Hugs!