Recipe Share: Spinach and Artichoke Formaggio

Happy Monday everyone! As much as I just want to stay home and be a couch potato for the rest of the day, I'm off to the office with tons of work awaiting. Just to keep the mood on a positive note, I'm sharing my fave comfort food ever! 

It was love at first sight,er, bite for this ultimate dip, the spinach and artichoke formaggio. First discovered it in Italliani's restaurant almost a decade ago. Actually, it's just a dip but I can eat this for like 2 straight weeks. SO TRULY DELECTABLE. 

So one fine morning, while craving for spinach and artichoke formaggio, I decided why not try to make my own. 

Formaggio is an Italian word meaning cheese. The ingredients of the recipes I saw on the web were (obviously) artichoke, spinach, cheese as well as mushroom, heavy cream, onions, salt and pepper. Most groceries here don't carry fresh artichoke so I used a canned version. I also butter, fresh spinach, mushrooms (good thing at least we have those in our groceries). Most recipes also use at least three types of cheeses and I went for parmesan, mozzarella and cheddar to get those different layers of creaminess and saltiness. Can you imagine how creamy and rich this dip is? 

For the step by step procedure, there are several versions on the web on how to do it. I just experimented based on ingredients at hand and how I like my vegetables cooked. My version, I very quickly sauteed onions, mushroom and artichoke in butter, added the different types of cheese and chopped spinach. Afterwhich, I reduced the fire and added the a few tablespoons of heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste. Once cooked, I realized how much I made and decided to bake it on small muffin cups so I can freeze the rest. 

This recipe is best served with french bread and I was in heaven for days :)