I make mine as follows (I usually serve it cold, but I guess it could survive the trauma of a little time getting bubbly in the oven):

A little quality olive oil in the food processor, followed immediately by a teeny bit of white onion and some minced garlic (I like the sharpness, but you could crush it or roast it).

Blend.

Add a whole brick of cream cheese and a generous splash of lemon juice.

Blend.

Add two cans of quartered/halved/whole (your choice) artichoke hearts, but emphatically not the marinated kind, saving back and coarsely chopping just a few tender morsels for garnish.

Blend

The mixture should be just a smidge coarse; stop blending.

Spatula into a decorative bowl, and garnish with fresh chopped roma tomatoes, whole basil leaves, freshly ground black pepper and, of course, chopped artichoke hearts.

Delightful with warmed pita.

Here's a variation:

include 2-3 cloves finely chopped garlic, sauteed in a little butter or olive oil
1/2 to 1 pkg thawed, drained (squeezed) frozen chopped spinach (you may wish to chop it finer)
1/2 to 1 can cream of mushroom soup (I dislike mayonnaise)

Follow the rest of the instructions. Wheat Thins also work well to scoop up this stuff. And Mitzi is telling the absolute truth - people will follow you home for this.


You can also make a side dish out of this recipe by adding 1.5-2 C. cooked rice and follow the same instructions.

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