Garlicky Creamy Spinach Dip
Updated February 23, 2016 
Cookbook
Young and Hungry: More Than 100 Recipes for Cooking Fresh and Affordable Food for Everyone
Published by Hyperion
The trick here is to cook the garlic slowly—just until it turns golden so that it mellows and gets sweeter. You can use this as a dip for almost everything, from bread sticks to celery sticks. I like to use it to lighten up my spread by putting out a mix of veggies (such as carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli) around the dip.
CostInexpensive
Total Timeunder 30 minutes
Make Ahead RecipeYes
One Pot MealYes
OccasionBuffet, Cocktail Party, game day
Recipe Courseappetizer
Dietary Considerationvegetarian
Five Ingredients or LessYes
Mealdinner
Moodfestive
Taste and Texturecheesy, creamy, garlicky, savory
Type of Dishdip/spread
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 10 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ pound (about 12 cups loosely packed) baby spinach, big stems pulled off and leaves coarsely chopped
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- Juice of ½ lemon
Instructions
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Cut the cream cheese into a few pieces and toss them into a large mixing bowl. Leave at room temperature to soften.
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Squeeze the garlic cloves through a press, stopping every few cloves to scrape out the garlic left behind in the press.
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Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until it is nice and golden, about 8 minutes.
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Add the spinach, raise the heat to high, and stir until it wilts. The spinach will turn bright green and start to give off liquid. Cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes. Season the spinach with salt and pepper and scrape it onto a cutting board. Let stand to cool a bit.
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Chop the spinach finely with a chef’s knife. Scoop the spinach into the bowl with the cream cheese, leaving as much liquid behind on the board as possible. Add the sour cream and lemon juice, and mash with a big fork until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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You can make the dip up to a few days in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Before serving, bring to room temperature. The longer that it sits in the fridge, the stronger the garlic flavor will become.
2005 David Lieberman
