The inspiration for this dip is a menu. I don’t remember where or when, but some menu I saw online – either Instagram or researching restaurants or something a friend sent me – had a Sardou dip. I didn’t eat at the restaurant, but the dip idea really appealed to me, so I started from scratch. Eggs Sardou is a New Orleans brunch classic in the benedict vein, an artichoke bottom filled with creamed spinach topped with a poached egg and hollandaise, invented they say at Antoine’s restaurant. I mean, that’s a lot of really good things all on one plate. This is a fun way to combine the glory or New Orleans brunch with a fun Mardi Gras celebration any time of day.
This is a classic spinach and artichoke dip, with hollandaise sauce instead of mayonnaise or sour cream which makes it extra luscious. Spinach artichoke lovers will go wild for this. I like to serve it with toasted baguette rounds which I buy already prepared for ease, but it is also really nice with batons of ciabatta or baguette – cut strips from the bread, brush with olive oil and and toast so you have nice dippable sticks. If you wanted to get fancy, you could spoon this into those little pastry or filo cups and warm them up.
Sardou Dip (Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Hollandaise)
Course: Mardi Gras, Snacks And Starters, Vegetables8
servingsIngredients
3 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons lemon juice, divided
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
12 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, brined not marinated in oil
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
Sea salt
Directions
- First, make some hollandaise sauce. Put the egg yolks and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice in the carafe of a blender and blend to combine. Add a pinch of salt and blend. Melt the butter, either in a glass measuring jug in the microwave or in a saucepan with a pouring spout until it is just bubbling. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the butter until the sauce is thick and emulsified. Transfer the hollandaise to a bowl to cool completely and thicken.
- Put the thawed spinach in a tea towel, gather up the ends and twist and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Drain the artichoke hearts and chop them finely (I pulse them in a mini food processor, but you can easily do it with a knife). Put the cream cheese and ¾ cup of hollandaise in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth and combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the drained spinach and the chopped artichoke hearts and the remaining 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and beat to combine, scraping the bowl. Season with a salt to taste, then scrape the dip into a small baking dish. Bake until hot through and bubbling, 20 – 30 minutes. Serve warm with baguette rounds.
This may be wayyyy too southern. But could I make this dip by substituting the cream cheese for pimento cheese????
You could, but in this recipe I think it will take away from the hollandaise flavor that makes this special. You could sub pimento cheese in a regular spinach dip recipe. My cookbook Southern Snacks has a recipe for Creamy Collard Dip with pimentos, cheddar, mayo and cream cheese!