Who isn’t obsessed with Earls Spin Dip? Creamy feta taste without that strong mayo flavor of your traditional spinach dip…this isn’t your parents pumpernickel bread bowl filling (if ya know, ya know). Served with warm ciabatta crisps, it’s a delicious appy to share with friends.

So imagine how excited I was when a girlfriend bought the cook book and the recipe was in it! I excitedly took a picture and started preparing to make it…but wait, why are there water chestnuts? Salsa? No feta? This didn’t sound right! A bit more digging and what did we find out? This is the old spinach dip recipe from the 1980s, even when they have a picture of the current dip beside it! Not one to be defeated, I set out to recreate this myself. Here is the finished product and let me tell you, it’s delicious. You will need:

• 300 gram package of frozen spinach
• 398 ml can of artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/4 cup of finely diced onion (white or yellow)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 4 oz (half a brick) of full fat cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of feta stored in brined water, drained and crumbled, plus 1/4 cup more to sprinkle across top
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella
• 1/3 cup of sour cream, full fat
• 1/3 cup of mayonnaise (do not use miracle whip)
• 1/4 cup of cream or milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 short dashes of worcestershire sauce
• 2 to 3 cracks of salt
• 3 to 4 cracks of peppercorn

Preheat oven to °350.

Get a large bowl that you can mix in if using an immersion blender for this recipe instead of a food processor, one that is safe to blend in. If using a food processor, you can throw everything straight in.

First, defrost and drain your spinach. I like to do this in the microwave. I know it’s not often the microwave makes an appearance on this blog, and feel free to do it on the stove, but I’m simplifying when I’m entertaining! I will put it in on high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes. Once no ice remains, I toss it in a strainer and push the remaining water out using the bottom of a rounded bowl to push down on the spinach in the strainer. You can use a spoon as well or a cheese cloth. Toss into the bowl.

Next throw your onions in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes. You want to get them sweating a bit. You can also do this on the stovetop. Toss into bowl.

Next quarter your artichokes and toss in bowl.

Add garlic, cream cheese, feta, mozzarella, sour cream, mayonnaise, cream, lemon, worcestershire, salt and pepper. Now I like to use my immersion blender. Get right in there and puree everything until there are no chunks left and you have a smooth green looking dip. However, you can do the same by tossing it into your food processor as mentioned earlier, or a high powered blender.

Give a good mix with a spatula and scrape out into a 5 by 9 inch glass or ceramic oven safe dish. Bake in an oven at for about 15 minutes or until it it’s clearly bubbling and the slightest bit of golden around the edges.

Sprinkle with remaining feta and serve! You can serve this with tortilla chips for ease, but I like to slice ciabatta bread into slices while waiting on the dip to heat and toast just for a few minutes in the oven to warm, right after I pull the dip out.

I hope you enjoy and don’t forget to let me know and share if you make it!