Ah, December… definitely my favorite month, not just cause I’m a Sagittarius either. I admit, I’m quite a whore for the holiday season, and seeing everyone in the neighborhood deck their houses out in lights makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, forgetting everything else I have going on that tends to make me a bit of a Scrooge sometimes, hehe. And of course, holidays = good food. Not even just on Christmas or Thanksgiving either. I’m talking about all those holiday potluck parties in between too, filled with random arrays of candies, cookies, dips, chips, and all that other stuff that goes right to your hips. I’ve noticed that spinach dip always seems to make an appearance… whether hot or cold, its cheesy goodness and deceptively “healthy” name is always a crowd pleaser. To me, it’s always the same though… cream cheese + spinach + the packaged Knorr’s seasoning and some other add-ins. Of course, I’m always trying to make things different when it comes to food, so I recently perfected a recipe a while back that calls for yogurt and feta, giving it a little Greek twist I suppose. And I think the yogurt gives it a slightly healthier alternative, so you don’t have to feel too bad about pigging out on it because at least you’re getting some calcium!
Greeked-up Spinach Dip… for the Holidays
Ingredients:
• 3 packages of baby spinach (18 oz bags, so 54 oz. total)
• 1 medium sweet or yellow onion, finely diced
• 4–6 cloves of garlic, minced and divided (depending on how garlicky you like things)
• olive oil, for sautéing
• 20 oz. of thick, strained Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• freshly chopped mint leaves, and/or chopped walnuts, to garnish
• salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
(1) In a medium skillet, blanch the baby spinach until in just starts to wilt. Let it cool for a bit, then strain it to get as much excess liquid out as your can. Chop it up finely, then give it another strain and pat it dry with some paper towels (You can also use thawed frozen spinach for this and not have to cook it I suppose, but I always like things fresh). Set aside.
(2) Heat oil in another (or the same) medium skillet and sauté the onion for a few minutes until it gets soft and a bit caramelized. Towards the end, add half of the minced garlic and cook for about a minute or two longer, seasoning with a pinch of salt. Take off the heat and add it to the chopped spinach.
(3) In a large bowl, add the yogurt, feta, and rest of the garlic, mixing to combine. Gently mix in the spinach mixture, then chopped mint, stirring gently to combine everything. Add more salt and pepper to taste, then refrigerate for a few hours.
(4) When ready to serve, scoop out the dip into a nice bowl (or better yet, a bread bowl like pictured above… I like to use the dark brown/pumpernickel variety). Garnish with some chopped toasted walnuts and more mint leaves, and you’ve got yourself a kick-ass dish for your next holiday party!
