Spinach and artichoke dip

Ingredients

• 14 ozfrozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed as dry as you can get it
• 14 ozartichoke hearts, one jar, drained and roughly chopped
• 8 3/4 ozcream cheese, at room temperature
• 5 1/4 ozsour cream
• 2 ozvegetarian Italian hard cheese, finely grated
• 4 1/4 ozmozzarella, a variety labelled suitable for vegetarians, grated
• 3 clovegarlic, crushed
• 1/2lemon, juiced
• 1 tspsea salt
• 1/2 tspblack pepper

Method

1. 1

   Squeeze the defrosted spinach in a clean dish towel over the sink, twisting until no more water comes out, then pull it apart so it is not one solid lump.

2. 2

   Beat the cream cheese with the sour cream, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper until completely smooth.

3. 3

   Stir in the spinach, chopped artichokes, the hard cheese and two thirds of the mozzarella until evenly mixed, then spread it into a baking dish.

4. 4

   Heat the oven to 400°F, scatter the rest of the mozzarella over, and bake until bubbling at the edges and browned in patches on top.