I say “dip”, but honestly, I just end up eating this straight out of the bowl. (Yes, I do mean the mixing bowl.) Please don’t skip or skimp on the fried garlic – it’s really what makes this dish. How much is too much fried garlic, anyway? Rhetorical question.
It couldn’t be easier: blanch the spinach in a pan. One crucial step after blanching is to squeeze out all the excess moisture from it with your hands. We don’t want it watering down the flavours and the texture of the dip. Chop it up fairly coarsely. It’s nice to actually see and taste bits of the spinach in the dip instead of having a homogeneous green mixture. Stir in diced onion, yogurt and salt. Top with fried garlic and a little drizzle of olive oil and you’re good to go. That’s literally it. I’ll stop right here. My usual rambling about inconsequential things seems a bit pointless when I’m embarrassed to even call this a recipe.
This can be eaten as said dip with pitas, served as a sauce (I sometimes use it as a replacement for tzatziki in wraps) and even served alongside a rice dish, like you would a raitha.
SPINACH AND YOGURT DIP WITH FRIED GARLIC
Ingredients
- 150-200 grams spinach
- 1 ¼ cups yogurt (see notes)
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Oil, to fry the garlic
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Coarsely chop the garlic (see picture for size reference). Fry in oil until golden. Keep an eye out as they’ll quickly darken and turn bitter. Drain on a paper towel.
- Add the spinach to a pan with a splash of water. Cook until just wilted - no more than 2-3 mins. Rinse under cold water to stop it from cooking further.
- Squeeze handfuls of the spinach in your hands to remove excess moisture. Coarsely chop and add to a bowl. Stir in the yogurt, onion, and salt.
- Top with extra virgin olive oil and fried garlic. Serve cold or at room temperature.
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