Spinach & Artichoke Dip.

Hardware

• A knife 🙂
• 5 to 6 quart pan
• Measuring cup
• Bowl
• Roux Whisk
• Spatula

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter,
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 10 ounces fresh spinach (or half pack frozen, squeezed of excess moisture)
• Two cans, canned artichokes, drained, roughly chopped. 
• One yellow onion, minced.
• To cloves garlic, smashed.
• 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, or a blend that includes Monterey Jack
• 1/2 cup Parmesan and or Romano cheese
• Cayenne pepper (I prefer Kashimiri Mirch)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Panko breadcrumbs.
• About a quarter cup of melted butter.
• Some extra shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In 2 tablespoons of butter, sauté onions until they are lightly brown.
2. Add the spinach a little bit of water and cover the pan for a minute.
3. Add the artichokes and stir.
4. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. 
5. Return contents of the pan out into a bowl and wipe out the pan
6. Return pan to heat, medium, and add the quarter cup of butter.
7. Once the butter is fully melted and bubbling. Add the flour and whisk thoroughly.
8. Continue to whisk until you have a light blonde roux.
9. Stream in the milk while whisking until smooth, to form a béchamel.
10. Add salt and spices to taste. Add a little more salt than you think is necessary, since the vegetables will reduce the amount of saltines, and béchamel can take a lot on its own.
11. Lower heat to medium low and start adding in the cheese
12. Once the mixture is fully incorporated and smooth, add the vegetable mix back in and stir thoroughly.
13. Turn off the heat and turn the pan out into either two smaller or one large casserole dish (about 6 cups total) and top with Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and some melted butter And bake it 400 for 10 to 15 minutes

Notes

• Best served warm, stores in fridge about a week, reheats well (microwave or oven)
• You can easily sub a few cans of shredded crab meat for the spinach, and old Bay seasoning for the Cayenne pepper. Wait—did I say crab? I meant clams, no I really mean lobster… you get the point 🙂
• In fact, you can use the béchamel and cheese base for a variety of other fillings. Just keep the proportions of those other fillings fairly close to the above listed.
• Worth noting: a traditional béchamel usually has a bit of fresh ground nutmeg and salt, couldn’t hurt. Done properly, you should just barely notice the nutmeg and salt.