Recently, I got a note from one of my tester friends, Kip Dorrell, who had added spinach and artichoke hearts to the Fettucine Alfredo sauce from American Vegan Kitchen. With a sprinkling of vegan cheese, she magically turned it into Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip. Of course, I had to head to the kitchen and play with it further. I kept some of the basic elements of the sauce, but couldn’t resist playing with it a little more. We happen to like mozzarella-style cheese in this, but I’m sure Monterey jack or the pepperjack shreds would also be delicious.
We were pleased with the results and plan to have it again for New Year’s Eve. It will be perfect paired with champagne. Thank you, Kip!
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
3/4 cup cashews
2/3 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers
2 scallions, chopped
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Generous pinch black pepper
1/2cup frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
1/2 cup drained and chopped artichoke hearts
1/2 cup vegan shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes
Pinch smoked paprika
Nonstick spray
Crusty bread, corn chips and vegetables for dipping
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. F. Combine the cashews, broth, pine nuts, vinegar, capers, scallions, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender. Process until completely smooth and no grit remains. Stir in the spinach, artichoke hearts, cheese, and sundried tomatoes. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Spray a 9 or 10-inch pie plate with nonstick spray. Spread the dip into the skillet and sprinkle lightly with the paprika. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown. Serve hot with the dippers.
Now for an important organizational note! As some of you know, I’ve been deliberating over the best way to manage facebook pages so I could have a personal and a professional page. I don’t want to cross-post like crazy, for one thing, and want to keep things as simple as possible. I’d rather spend more time in the kitchen and less time on the computer. So I’ve decided that I will delete the American Vegan Kitchen facebook page and retire the Tamasin Noyes Cooks Vegan page. Instead, I’ll have both a personal and professional page under my name, Tamasin Noyes. Please find me there! The new professional page will be linked from that page. I expect to make the change by New Year’s Day. Thank you for your patience while I iron out this (to me) complicated situation.
If you’ve hung in with me for this whole post, I want to say congratulations to the winner for Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food, is Ashley, #22! I hope you’ll love this zine as much as I do.
All the best to all of you in 2012!
