For some reason this post never made it out of my drafts before – not exactly store cupboard stuff but sharing it now minus any photos which I have long ago lost! I think this post is about 5 years old now!
You can make an equally delicious version with just a cup of mayo, a cup of cream cheese and a cup of parmesan tipped over the two cans of artichoke hearts (or fronds if that’s what you have). It works really well as a carb replacement side.
This baked artichoke dip is really moorish – I’ve had to make a second dish full as I couldn’t resist the first one and I need to take it with me somewhere tomorrow!
I’ve spent the day cooking and baking for a very special 3 year old’s birthday party tomorrow. He informed me yesterday on his actual birthday that he wouldn’t really be three until he’d had his birthday cake – the kind of kid logic you can’t assail really! Well we went dinosaur shopping and he “needed” a new ball and sweets and bubbles and I very quickly realised that he has me down as a soft touch! Guess there are worse things!
I’ve made hummus, sausage rolls and scrummy sausages so far plus pate and a cheesecake so I’ll be busy writing up recipes come Sunday!
This baked artichoke dip was inspired by one I had at a BBQ several years ago – it tasted like dauphinoise potatoes and went in minutes of being put on the table. I wrote the recipe down on the back of an envelope and then promptly lost it and all I could remember was that it involved mayonnaise and parmesan cheese so I’ve had to re-engineer it from there. I decided to add a healthy kick too with some stealth health secret veg!
Ingredients
250ml mayonaise
400g full fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 x 400g cans artichoke hearts in water, drained
125g grated parmesan, finely grated
300g cauliflower (I used frozen florets)
400g tin cannellini beans
Method
1. Steam the cauliflower and cannelloni beans for about ten minutes until tender and then blitz in a food processor or with a stick blender until really smooth. Add in a little milk to loosen it up if necessary.
2. Drain the artichoke hearts and slice in half, squeezing out any excess water and lay in the bottom of a baking dish.
3. Mix together with a fork or whisk the mayonnaise, pureed cauliflower and beans with the cream cheese and 100g of the parmesan together with the garlic and black pepper and pour this over the artichoke hearts.
4. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top and then bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 45 minutes, when the dish should be bubbling and golden on top.
5. Serve as a dip with French bread or plain chips.