Roasted Artichoke and Spinach Bake

This is my new favorite recipe. It’s everything I love — a lot of artichoke hearts, a bunch of spinach, a little Parmesan and even smaller amount of egg. I adapted this recipe from the now-out-of-print cookbook, My Love for Naples. This is one of those foods that can be eaten at any time of day and either room temp or straight from the oven. It would also be a terrific picnic food because, like a quiche, it holds its shape nicely.

My go-to appetizer for the past two years has been roasted artichoke hearts, socca, stuffed grape leaves, feta, and olives. I buy frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe’s, roast them with olive oil and salt until slightly crispy and browned and then sprinkle a little fresh lemon juice on top — insanely good. This recipe just sorta goes one step further incorporating a few of my absolute must-eat-a lot-foods. I suppose you could make this vegan, but it might not hold together as well. And you can most certainly make it gluten-free, as I did by using gluten-free panko bread crumbs because I had a dinner guest who could not eat gluten. Ok, let me clarify that, because I live in Boulder, they “elected not to eat” gluten. Whatevs. I get it. I’m actually a very picky eater (just ask my family), so I give anyone and everyone a free pass with regard to food hang-ups. Kudos to them if they can resist the power of the flour, but damn, I do love good bread and pasta…

Oh, if you don’t have access to frozen artichoke hearts, you could absolutely use fresh. Be warned, it will be a royal PIA to pare them down from the globe, but it could be worth it if you have the time and if they are plentiful. But I would certainly shy away from the artichoke hearts in cans of water because you just simply won’t get that same depth of flavor. And definitely, don’t use artichokes marinated in olive oil.

Ok, basta! On to the recipe…

Print Recipe

Roasted Artichoke and Spinach Bake

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

30-40 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 12 oz package frozen artichoke hearts thaw and coarsely chop
• 1 pound fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs use gluten-free if desired
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 egg lightly beaten

Course Main Dish Cuisine Italian Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 30-40 minutes Servings people Ingredients 2 Tablespoons butter 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic 1 12 oz package frozen artichoke hearts thaw and coarsely chop 1 pound fresh spinach, chopped 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped 1/2 cup bread crumbs use gluten-free if desired 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 1 egg lightly beaten

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a pie plate or similar sized dish.
2. In a large skillet, warm butter and olive oil. Add onion and garlic and sautee until garlic starts to lightly brown (about 3 minutes). Add in artichokes and sautee until well caramelized -- probably a good 15 minutes on a steady heat stirring often to prevent onion and garlic from burning.
3. Add spinach and, if possible, cover dish to let spinach wilt onto artichoke/onion/garlic mixture. If not, just stir spinach slowly until it wilts into the rest of the dish.
4. Get out a large mixing bowl and put artichoke/spinach mixture in bowl. Mix in the remaining ingredients: parsley, Parmesan, bread crumbs and cheese.
5. Pour entire mixture into buttered pie plate. Top with more Parmesan if you desire.
6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

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