Artichoke Spread Recipe

I think it would be disrespectful to artichokes to let the season pass without preparing different dishes with them. The other day we bought four artichokes from the market. The kind vendor gave us the largest ones for the price of the smaller ones since it was late in the afternoon.

When I bought them, my plan was to make artichokes in olive oil, but I hadn’t expected to make such a variety out of them.

I’ve almost given up on making rice pilaf, but since my husband likes it, I occasionally make it just for him. I thought, it’s been a while since I made artichoke pilaf, and since this version is rich in ingredients besides rice, I can also have a spoonful or two. From one of the artichokes, I made a half portion of artichoke pilaf. That left me with three artichokes. If I made the olive oil version, it wouldn’t be enough for the two of us, so I thought I’d make a half portion of artichoke soup with one of them and have the next day’s soup ready. So I made an artichoke soup with one. Two artichokes left. I thought, let me just boil these, something will come out of it for sure. A bit of this and a bit of that later, I ended up with a delicious dip.

What should you pay attention to?

As I said, the artichokes I used were quite large; if yours are smaller, use three. Don’t boil the artichokes until they fall apart—let them stay slightly firm. You can use hazelnuts instead of walnuts, but keep in mind the flavor will change.

How to serve?

You can enjoy it just like classic meze spreads such as hummus or muhammara. You can spread it on bread or dip things into it. It could be chips, homemade crisps, breadsticks, or toasted bread. That part is completely up to you.

Is it diet-friendly?

This is a very suitable recipe for snack times during a diet, but it’s also perfect for those who aren’t dieting, so I included it under both categories. As I said, you can absolutely eat it while on a diet. For example, spread it on a wasa crispbread and enjoy. Since it’s high in fiber and healthy fats, it will keep you full for a long time. The total calorie count of the dip is 200. If you use it as part of a diet snack, you’d spread about one-fifth of it on a wasa, which is about 40 calories. With the wasa included, it makes a snack of about 70–80 calories.

Enjoy...

Bon Appetit...