Years ago, my aunt gave me a sweet little book called Never Eat More Than You Can Lift by Sharon Tyler Herbst. It’s a compendium of quotations about food (“Life is too short to bother with tasteless tomatoes” – Cindy Pawlcyn). Scattered throughout are a few recipes. My aunt gave me the book with the explicit instruction to make the Tartichoke Dunk immediately. And I did. And continue to, fully understanding why she wanted me to have it. After all, “The greatest dishes are very simple dishes” – Auguste Escoffier. And this is incredibly simple but with a great payoff.
As the sporting season begins, different and delicious dip recipes are great to have in you back pocket. I think this is a fantastic swap out for the classic spinach artichoke dip. No shade on that, but it is everywhere. Show up with this and you’ve got a great little twist with the tanginess of artichoke hearts and the twang of tomato with plenty of zesty cheese and creamy, rich mayonnaise. I have simplified the recipe using the food processor to grate the cheese and chop the vegetables (you can certainly do it all by hand), so I have changed the name to both reflect my changes and for clarity. Use artichokes in water or brine, not marinated in oil. I have made this with tomatoes with green chili, but to be honest I thought it was a bridge too far. The simplicity of this dip is it’s highlight. For a sophisticated look, I like little toasted baguette slices or petite toasts, but a good ol’ Frito scoop is fabulous too. Or just crackers. And if you happen to have some leftovers, stir it through some cooked pasta!
Food Processor, Enameled Cast Iron Baker, Porcelain Baker
Ingredients
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (to make 1 cup grated)
3 ounces Monterrey jack or swiss cheese (to make ½ cup grated)
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, thoroughly drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, thoroughly drained
1 clove garlic
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Generous grinds of black pepper
Directions
- Fit the coarse grating blade on a food processor and grate the cheddar and jack cheeses. Take out a couple of tablespoons for topping. Switch to the chopping blade. Add the drained artichokes and drained tomatoes. Roughly chop the garlic clove and drop it in. Pulse until everything is finely chopped, but don’t go so far as a smooth paste. Add the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper and pulse just until combined. You want it to be slightly chunky, but easily dippable. If you are concerned it is chopping too much, stop and just stir it together with a spatula.
- Scoop the dip into a 2-quart baking dish and smooth the top. Sprinkle over the reserved cheese. You can now cover and refrigerate for up to two days.
- When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees and take the dip from the fridge to take the chill off while the oven heats. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until warm through and bubbling around the edges. Serve with bauguette slices, or with big corn chip scoops.
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