• Yield: Serves 8-10

  • Time: 30 minutes cooking


A good dip is hard to resist. This version -- which includes sweet, ripe tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts and spinach -- comes together in a snap. The mix of cheese is essential here: mozzarella for the melt factor, pecorino Romano for the slight bite and feta for the all-over creaminess. I made this with fresh oregano, which brought an edge of the Mediterranean to it, but dried will do if that is all you have in your kitchen.  

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 medium onion, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups) 

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 23-ounce jar plum tomatoes, strained

  • 1 12-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped 

  • 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed of excess moisture 

  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 

  • 1 cup finely shredded pecorino Romano cheese 

  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta 

  • 1 cup sour cream 

  • 1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise 

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried 

  • 1 teaspoon salt 

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

  • 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes 

  • Pita chips, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook. Stir until golden, about 10-11 minutes, taking care not to let the onions burn. Add the garlic and cook 1 additional minute. Scrape the onion mixture into a large bowl.

3. Add the tomatoes, artichokes, spinach, mozzarella, pecorino Romano, feta, sour cream, mayonnaise, oregano, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Stir to combine.

4. Transfer the mixture to an 8-by-10 inch ovenproof baking dish. Bake until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly, about 30 minutes. If desired, turn on the broiler and broil the top for 2 minutes.

Serve with pita chips.


***

This recipe was created with funding from Muir Glen, whose tomatoes we love. In fact, Lynne picked them as the best-tasting canned tomatoes in a blind test way back before they were an underwriter of the program. Now our relationship works like this: Muir Glen gave us the money to create more recipes that use tomatoes. We asked our friend Adeena Sussman, who appeared on the show back when she authored this cookbook, to come up with nine original recipes that include canned tomatoes as an ingredient. They're great, and we're rolling them out over the course of nine months. We'd like to thank Muir Glen for the support and for allowing us the creative freedom to produce this content independent of any editorial oversight.