Robot Heart Recipes

Warm Spinach-White Bean Dip
Makes 3 cups

My mom made this dip and brought it over to serve as an appetizer with our Easter meal. My extreme delay in posting it has nothing to do with its deliciousness. In fact, I absolutely adored this dip! I’ve just had a lot of “life” interfering with things that I want to do lately—such as catching up on blog posts. At any rate, Mom reported that this dip was easy to make. She also wanted me to let you know that it worked well as a “make-ahead” dish. She put it together the night before Easter, then transported to my house to bake and serve. She incorporated a few small additions, which I have included below. In my opinion this is a terrific, healthier alternative to the typical cream cheese or sour cream based versions of spinach dip!

INGREDIENTS

5-ounces baby spinach (3 cups)

2 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon yellow onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 can (15-ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

freshly ground pepper

crudités for dipping

INSTRUCTIONS

Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash spinach, leaving some water clinging to the leaves. Transfer to a large saucepan. Cover, and steam spinach over medium heat, stirring once, until wilted, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove spinach using a slotted spoon, and let cool.

Step Two: In the same pan, heat olive oil and sauté onion and garlic until fragrant, about 2-4 minutes; remove from heat. Squeeze out excess liquid from spinach using a kitchen towel; coarsely chop.

Step Three: Pulse ricotta and cannellini beans in a food processor until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Add chives, lemon zest, and salt. Season with pepper. Stir in spinach, onion and garlic mixture, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Transfer to a 1-quart baking dish and top with remaining tablespoon Parmesan.

Step Four: Bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Season with pepper. Serve warm with crudités.

Source: Martha Stewart Living, December 2009. View the recipe on WholeLiving.com.