Olive Garden Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

• 2 fresh artichokes
• 1 lemon, juice of, squeezed
• 1 teaspoon salt

OR

• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and sliced

• 1 lb cream cheese, room temperature
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leave
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 fresh garlic clove, minced
• 5 green onions, chopped
• salt
• ground black pepper

• 1 (6 ounce) package fresh spinach, chopped
• 8 slices crusty Italian bread
• extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle)

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 325ºF.

2. 2

   Artichoke Preparation:.

3. 3

   BOIL artichokes in 3 quarts water with 1 tsp salt and lemon juice.

4. 4

   COOL artichokes. Clean, peel, remove center “choke” and slice artichoke.

5. 5

   FOLLOW Dip Preparation steps below.

6. 6

   Dip Preparation:.

7. 7

   MIX all ingredients in a large bowl, except bread and extra virgin olive oil.

8. 8

   COAT a large non-stick baking pan with pan spray; fill pan with mixture. Bake at 325ºF for about 25 minutes or until bubbling and center is hot.

9. 9

   DRIZZLE both sides of bread with extra virgin olive oil. Grill bread on both sides.

10. 10

    SPRINKLE top of heated dip with parmesan cheese. Serve hot with grilled bread.