Parmesan and Lemon Artichoke Spread

Almost everyone has a favorite artichoke dip or spread recipe. For years my go to artichoke dip has been one made with parmesan cheese, goat cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. It is one of those delicious, rich and a little on the 'heavy' side hot spreads. But not everyone likes goat cheese. As an alternative I sometimes make the Roasted Artichoke Dip with Feta and Oregano, a spread that is much 'lighter', however, not everyone is a fan of Feta cheese. Then a few weeks back I was at a gathering and tasted an artichoke spread I was immediately addicted to. If it was socially appropriate, I would have just hovered over the dish and discouraged everyone else from trying it.

One bite and I immediately knew this was a recipe I had to have, keeping my fingers crossed the woman who brought the appetizer would be willing to share it. Upon learning who made this dish I went over and introduced myself. Once I stopped gushing over the artichoke dip, I learned she graduated from the same high school I did (she graduated four years before I did so our paths had not crossed way back when). I went to a medium sized high school (maybe there were 3,000 students at the height of its' enrollment), however, I rarely, if ever, meet anyone from the town I grew up in or the high school I attended. Unlike a friend of mine who meets someone from her high school everywhere and I mean everywhere she goes (when it happened in San Diego we were speechless).

But I need to get back to this Parmesan and Lemon Artichoke Spread. The layers of flavor from the artichokes, lemon juice, shallots, and parmesan cheese make it one of the most refreshing (and addictive) artichoke dips/spreads I have ever tasted. And almost everyone likes parmesan cheese. Right?

You absolutely have to make this for your next gathering, even if that gathering includes only you and your significant other or you and a friend or you and a neighbor. Even on the hottest day or in the hottest climates, you will be glad you turned on the oven for twenty minutes. And so will everyone else, even if they are sweating for a little while until your house cools down.

This spread is a reason to stock up on canned artichokes. One fourteen ounce can of artichokes (not packed on oil) are drained, chopped and set aside while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.

I made two changes to the recipe (yes, to the recipe I was immediately addicted to, the recipe I would have been slightly beside myself if I wasn't able to get). The first was using finely chopped shallots instead of a finely chopped yellow onion. And the mild onion/garlic flavor of the shallots definitely increased this spread's addictiveness level.

Instead of freshly grating Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, I grated a parmesan cheese I had picked up at the farmer's market, one that was aged but on the milder side. This is not a spread that needs the more intensely flavorful Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but it is a spread that needs freshly grated parmesan cheese.

This spread could not be easier to assemble. Literally you can put it all together in less than 15 minutes (if you make it early in the day, just cover and refrigerate until ready to bake). In a medium sized bowl, the mayonnaise, shallots and cheese are mixed together. Once blended the chopped artichokes, freshly squeezed lemon juice and black pepper are mixed in. The entire mixture is than transferred to a shallow baking dish.

The second change I made was two-fold: Increasing the amount of topping and changing out the bread crumbs for Panko crumbs. Unless you are making your own bread crumbs, the texture you get from a topping made with  Panko crumbs always seems to work, always seems to taste better, and always has just the right amount of a crunch factor. I increased the amount of Panko crumbs because I wanted each bite of the spread to have both the creaminess of the spread and the crunch of the topping.

Six tablespoons of Panko crumbs are mixed with one tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. Once mixed they are spread evenly over the top of the artichoke mixture. The remaining one tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan cheese is then sprinkled over the top before the dish goes into the oven to bake.

The Parmesan and Lemon Artichoke Spread is baked in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the mixture is heated all the way through. Serve hot/warm with crackers or crostini. 

And hey, if you bring this spread to a gathering you might end up meeting someone new, maybe even someone whose life path had crossed earlier with yours. But no matter who is at this gathering I am pretty certain at least one person will seek you out to ask you for the recipe.

Recipe

Parmesan and Lemon Artichoke Spread (inspired by a recipe given to me by Pat Polselli)

Ingredients
1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
1 cup and 1 Tablespoon freshly grated parmesan cheese (divided)
1 cup mayonnaise
14 ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 Tablespoons Panko crumbs
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix together the chopped shallots, grated parmesan cheese and mayonnaise until blended.
3. Stir in chopped artichoke hearts, lemon juice and black pepper.
4. Transfer mixture to a shallow baking dish.
5. Mix together the Panko crumbs and extra-virgin olive oil until all crumbs are coated.
6. Spread crumbs and one Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese evenly over top of artichoke mixture.
7. Bake for 20 minutes (crumbs will be golden brown).
8. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with crackers and/or crostini.

First a disclaimer. I am not a mystic, a spiritualist, or a parapsychology practitioner although I wish I was at least two of them. In spite of this, I have been known to sense a distinguishable aura to some of the places I have been. The kind of aura you feel immediately, one having a kind of 'take your breath away' feeling. For some unknown reason I can't always find the right words to describe the aura or adequately capture the qualities contributing to making these places uniquely distinctive (as hard as it is to believe there are actually moments when I find myself at a loss for words). Two of the places where I have felt significantly strong auras have been Nantucket and the Cotswolds. And last week I felt it in Missoula, Montana.

And like the other two places, I still haven't been able to find the right words to describe everything I felt the moment I set foot in Missoula. To say that it was beautiful, compelling, alive, or feeling as if it retained its' century's old energies might be a good place to start. But even those descriptions fall short. Between the river, mountains, lakes and the forests, Missoula draws you in. And already it is calling me back. 

Driving through (western) Montana you understand why it is called Big Sky country. The hues of blues in the sky are breathtaking, different than Colorado blues, Nantucket blues, and the midwestern blues I see every day. And as odd as it seems, the sky really does seem bigger in Montana. At one point on this trip I had stopped taking photos because I just wanted to take it all in (or maybe I was just giving myself an excuse, a reason to return). However, the one time I absolutely wished I had my camera with me was on the Clark Fork River at Alberton Gorge river raft trip. As anxious as I was to go on my first river raft trip (although the twenty minute safety talk had me rethinking it), I was never really afraid once we got onto the river. Maybe it was the aura, the one I can't seem to describe, that had me feeling a sense of calm (even when going through the rapids). Because nothing else can explain how my anxiousness could so magically disappear.