Hello Lovelies, after the blog was offline half a day due to some server problems, I'm happy that I still managed to share the first part of my vegan Christmas Menu with you now. And I think we should start at the very beginning with delicious Dips and snack platters to share with everyone. In Switzerland family gatherings and dinners always start with Apéro, a glass of wine or non-alcoholic drinks and snacks, fresh veggies, olives and other little things to nibble on. Sometimes also chips, everything in balance and small portions to share, so you still have enough room for the yummy dinner ahead.
So the first Dip I want to share with you today is an alternative to a classical hummus. Since I recently took a Food Intolerance test with the result that I reacted the most to chickpeas, I'm trying to avoid them. So this Dip is with white beans instead of chickpeas and I think the result is even creamier with them. I made two varieties and added beetroot to one part.
Spinach-Artichoke-Dip
- 1 can/jar artichoke hearts
- 2 hand full fresh spinach
- 1 garlic clove
- 125 gr vegan cream cheese (z.B. New Roots Cream Cheeeze chives)
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt
- pepper
Topping:
- 1 slice whole wheat toast
- 2 Tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 Tsp olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 180 C degree
- Drain the water from the artichokes, roughly chop the spinach and add both to a mixer/food processor
- Add the vegan cheese, garlic and nutritional yeast and blend until smooth
- You can also add some of the spinach leaves later, to get bigger parts, which is also nice
- Season to taste with salt and peper
- Add to a ovenproof dish
- For the topping crumble the toast and mix it with the nutritional yeast and the olive oil
- Layer on the dip and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes
- Cover with foil if it gets to dark, but it should be golden brown and crispy
- Serve warm with veggie sticks and bread
Even my daughters, especially one of them, absolutely adore this dip. It also can be enjoyed cold, but I really prefer it warm and directly out of the oven. The crust was so good and much better than the cheesy version I remember. The nutritional yeast is giving it a cheesy taste, this is a bit of a secret weapon amongst most vegans :-).
So that's the first part of my Christmas menu and I hope I can inspire you to try something new. I would love that so much. And we will have both dips for sure on our Christmas table at one point.
Love Verena
