Artichoke Dip inspired by Rick Bayless

I didn't title this one EAT HEALTHY, but I believe this recipe qualifies. According to the recipe I found in HEALTH magazine, it only has 156 calories per 1/4 cup serving and only 4 g carbs (which is what I watch).

Now, the recipe they featured in HEALTH was provided by the fabulous Rick Bayless.

But, as always, I adjusted, changed, and otherwise adapted it to my own needs.

I assume the calorie and carb counts of my version don't vary too much from that of Rick's because my changes were pretty minor.

If you want the precise recipe, you'll want to check out the April, 2011 issue of HEALTH, page 129.

If you want to see what I've concocted, here goes:

1 six-ounce jar of marinated artichokes, undrained

8 ounces goat cheese (Rick's recipe specifies "fresh goat cheese" and Avery will be able to tell you the difference between fresh and whatever isn't fresh... stale? but I just picked up a goat cheese on sale at the grocery store.)

5 or 6 sun-dried tomato halves

3 green olives (I left the pimentos in)

A very small amount of jalapeno pepper. Rick's recipe calls for 1 Tbsp diced pickled jalapeno, but I couldn't find anything like that. I used about 1/4 inch of a fresh pepper.

1 half-handful fresh Italian parsley

pinch of sea salt

I combined the first two ingredients, the artichokes in liquid and the goat cheese in my food processor and I blended until smooth, then spooned the mix into a bowl.

At that point I deviated from the recipe (shocker) and combined the remaining ingredients in my already-gloppy food processor. What the heck? Why chop each thing separately as directed when I could get it all done with a couple of pulses. Well, maybe more than a couple.

Once everything was chopped, I added it to the goat cheese, artichoke bowl and mixed well. Then all that was left to do was set out crackers and serve.

Super simple, if I do say so myself.

But how did it taste?

Great. I like the tang that comes from the combination of cheese and artichokes. The jalapeno was not overwhelming, and the sun-dried tomatoes were wonderful.

If you're not a fan of goat cheese, you may not care for this. But I bet it would be good with other soft cheeses. I may have to experiment!

Hope you have fun with it!

Julie

Check out Jennifer's post yesterday at Jenn's Bookshelves - where she reviewed Grace Under Pressure. And my guest post about Grace Interrupted, too!

Just two more months before Grace Interrupted comes out. I'm very excited!